幼年家兔口服苯妥英锌7个月小脑生长发育的研究

目的:考察长期口服苯妥英锌(phenytoinzinc,PZ)对幼年家兔小脑生长发育的影响。方法:1月龄新西兰家兔分别给予PZ或苯妥英钠(phenytoinsodium,PS)7个月(剂量分别为:30、10mg·kg-1·d-1),药前、药中(4个月)和药后进行三次CT扫描,测量小脑最大横径和蚓部最大横径。服药结束后处死动物,Bouin氏液灌注固定脑组织,测定全脑的长、宽和高以及重量。结果:CT扫描显示PS组服药4个月和7个月后,小脑最大横径分别缩短14.0%(P<0.05)和32.2%(P<0.01);蚓部最大横径分别缩短16.4%(P<0.05)和30.8%(P<0.01)。PZ组仅在服药7个月后,小脑和蚓部的最大横径比对照组分别缩短16.1%(P<0.05)和19.7%(P<0.05)。固定后的小脑和蚓部的长度和宽度,PS组均比对照组明显缩短;全脑湿重和乙醇脱水后重量以及小脑重量与对照组比较均显著减轻,其中全脑脱水后重量减轻15.4%(P<0.05),小脑重量减轻18.4%(P<0.05)。而PZ组的上述测定值与对照组均无显著性差异。结论:幼兔长期口服高剂量PS后导致小脑萎缩,而口服PZ后对小脑的形态影响比PS轻,有可能降低本类抗癫痫药物长期服用后引起的小脑萎缩。     

Educating early childhood teachers for the global world

Teachers for the twenty-first century for the global world need to be proficient in technology and skilled as reflective practitioners. They need to be able to reflect on diversity in myriad ways: learning styles, special needs, cultural differences, racial differences, developmentally appropriate differences, teaching styles and personality differences of children, teachers, parents, community members and administrators. The paradigni shift of the twenty-first century is that teachers need to be team players who are skilled at operating in a variety of collaborative partnerships.

The Early Childhood Program Faculty, at NEIU, with the help of a Teacher Quality Education grant, developed with six universities in Illinois called Illinois Professionals Learning Partnerships (IPLP), set out to adapt the NEIU/ECED program for the twenty-first century in a global world by focusing on four goals: (1) increasing technology and writing skills across the curriculum, (2) developing reflective skills and understanding of diversity (special needs, multicultural/international cultures), (3) developing student experience working in collaborative partnerships and (4) increasing clinical experiences.

The IPLP grant enabled the ECED program to: (1) spend intensive time on changing the curriculum in two retreats a year, (2) develop a faculty cohort including tenure track faculty, visiting lecturers and adjuncts, (3) develop a combined program of research and program development, (4) recruit and hire three new tenure track international faculty, (5) develop professional development schools and intensive field experiences, (6) combine resources for many grants, (7) develop short-term international experiences and faculty exchange programs and (8) increase technology skills of students and faculty through action laboratories on using video technology, digital cameras, reflective email discussions and videography.     

Preservice early childhood students' perceptions of written feedback on their essays

Lecturer feedback on students' essays is important to the quality of the experience students have at university (Norton & Norton, 2001). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether early childhood students at one university actually read lecturer feedback on their essays and, if they did, what they found helpful and not helpful to their learning. Feedback was defined as 'giving students information on how well or how poorly they are doing in their academic work' (Hounsell, 1987, p. 109). Using the Vygotskian concept of learning as a socially shared activity, qualitative data were collected from second-year students from a four-year early childhood degree programme via an anonymous survey and four focus groups. Major findings were that, in contrast with studies of students in other programmes, early childhood students read lecturer feedback on their essays and used feedback that was detailed and explanatory as a learning tool. Types of feedback students found to be most and least useful were identified.     

Renal resistive indexes and some renal functions in liver cirrhotic children

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to investigate renal vascular resistive changes in children with different stages of liver cirrhosis without obvious renal failure. METHODS: Twenty-nine children (14 girls, 15 boys, mean age 11.6 years) with cirrhosis and 20 healthy children (mean age 10.3 years) were investigated for renal vascular resistance with Doppler ultrasonography, urinary sodium, N-acetyl-beta-D glucosaminidase (NAG) and microalbuminuria excretion. RESULTS: The measurements of renal resistive indexes (RRI) were significantly higher in cirrhotic patients than the control group (0.69 +/- 0.07 vs 0.62 +/- 0.02, P < 0.0001). RRI measurement was found to be increased in decompensated cirrhotic patients than in compensated cirrhotic patients (0.73 +/- 0.05 vs 0.67 +/- 0.08, P < 0.0001). A significant positive relationship was observed between RRI and child score (r = 0.53). Urine NAG/Cr ratio was significantly higher in cirrhotic patients than in the control subjects (P < 0.001). Microalbumin concentrations were increased in the patients with decompensated cirrhosis than in the controls (P = 0.02). Patients with ascites and portal hypertension showed increased RRI values. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that patients with cirrhosis are at risk of renal deterioration, which can not be detected by serum urea, creatinine, and glomerular filtration rate. The increase of RRI is associated with the progress of hepatocellular disease, and also the development of ascites and portal hypertension. Elevated urinary sodium excretion, elevated urinary NAG/Cr ratio and microalbuminuria might have a prognostic value especially in patients with Child scores> 6. Hence, monitoring RRI is a non-invasive means of studying early renal hemodynamic alteration in childhood cirrhosis.     

Primary nephrotic syndrome during childhood in Turkey

BACKGROUND: Minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS) is the most common cause of primary nephrotic syndrome (NS) during childhood. However, recent studies from different countries have reported an increasing incidence of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in children. METHODS: This is a retrospective study in which 392 Turkish children who were diagnosed with NS during the last 10 years and were followed for at least 2 years, were evaluated. Mean age of the study group was 4.6 +/- 3.4 years (range 0.9-16 years) and 232 were male and 160 were female. RESULTS: In total, 280 patients were diagnosed as MCNS with their initial presentations, laboratory features, and clinical course. Kidney biopsy was performed in the remaining 112 children according to current recommendations. The results showed that membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) was the most common histopathologic diagnosis, 38 (34%) of the 112 patients were found to have MPGN. The number diagnosed as FSGS was 26 (23%). A significant difference was found between the age groups for both MPGN and FSGS, the former being more common in children >6 years of age and the latter more frequent in children childhood and MPGN is found to be the most common histopathologic subtype in the present patient population who underwent biopsy.     

Acute-onset nontraumatic paraplegia in childhood: fibrocartilaginous embolism or acute myelitis?

Fibrocartilaginous embolus causing acute spinal cord infarction is a rare cause of acute-onset paraplegia or quadriplegia. Few cases of survivors have been reported in the neurosurgical literature, with most reports involving post-mortem or biopsy findings. There is little information on MRI findings in such patients. We present the youngest patient ever reported, and discuss the important differences between fibrocartilaginous embolus and acute myelitis of childhood. A 6-year-old girl with a history of back pain presented with sudden-onset nontraumatic paraplegia, with a clinical anterior spinal artery syndrome. Initial MRI scan revealed intervertebral disc disease at L1–2 and an incidental thoracic syrinx, but no cause for her acute-onset paraplegia was identified. Cerebrospinal fluid and other investigations were all negative. Sequential MRI scans revealed development of spinal cord expansion from T10 to the conus medullaris, with increased cord signal in the anterior aspect of the spinal cord. The intervertebral disc disease was unchanged. The imaging and clinical findings were caused by fibrocartilaginous embolus, which meant there was no need for spinal cord biopsy. The report describes the clinical and imaging criteria for diagnosis of fibrocartilaginous embolus, highlighting the case for avoiding an unnecessary biopsy. The clinical pattern in the paediatric group is discussed, with features differentiating it from acute myelitis of childhood. Received: 4 January 2000     

The effects of television food advertisement on children''s food purchasing requests

BACKGROUND: Children's eating habits and their food consumption have direct relations with obesity, diabetes, cancers, hypertension and coronary heart disease. Television advertisements directly affect children's eating habits and their food consumption. This study was conducted in order to examine television advertisements and children's food consumption while watching television and their desire to purchase goods that they see on television advertisements. METHODS: In the first stage of the study, content analysis of the television advertisements was conducted. In the second stage of the study, a questionnaire (check list) was developed in order to examine children's food consumption while watching television and their purchasing requests while shopping in the supermarket. It was given to 347 mothers who have children aged between 3 and 8 years. RESULTS: When the results of the study were examined it was found that the time devoted to children's programs was approximately 121 min and the advertisements during this period were approximately 35 min. A total of 344 of the 775 television advertisements shown were related to food. It was also found that most of the food advertisements were about candy/chocolate, chips, milk and milk products such as cheese, yoghurt, and breakfast cereals. The results also revealed that 89.6% of the children either drank or ate something while watching television and the food they consumed most while watching television were fruits, soft drinks, popcorn/nuts, cake, chips and candy/chocolate. The results also revealed that 40.3% of the children asked their parents to purchase the goods that they saw on the television advertisements and that 8.9% of them argued with their parents and/or cried in order for their parents to buy that particular product. It was found that the children tended to request more sweetened products such as candy, ice-cream, biscuit, cake or soft drinks. CONCLUSION: More than half of the food presented in television advertisements were rich in fat and sugar. Children ask their parents to buy the goods they see on television advertisements both while watching television and while shopping. Television advertisements especially affect young children's unhealthy food consumption.     

Trends in childhood injury mortality in Canada, 1979–2002

OBJECTIVE: To examine national trends in mortality rates for injuries among Canadian children younger than 15 years in 1979-2002. METHODS: Data on injury deaths were obtained from the Canadian Vital Statistics system at Statistics Canada. Injuries were classified using the codes for external cause of injury and poisoning (E-codes) by intent and by mechanism. Mortality rates were age adjusted to the 1990 world standard population. Negative binomial regression was used to estimate the secular trends. RESULTS: Annual mortality rates for total and unintentional injuries declined substantially (from 23.8 and 21.7 in 1979 to 7.2 and 5.8 in 2002, respectively), whereas suicide deaths among children aged 10-14 showed an increasing trend. All Canadian provinces and territories showed a decreasing trend in mortality rates of total injuries. Motor vehicle related injuries were the most common cause of injury deaths (accounted for an average of 36.4% of total injury deaths), followed by suffocation (14.3%), drowning (13.5%), and burning (11.1%); however, suffocation was the leading cause for infants. The number of potential years of life lost due to injury before age 75 decreased from 89 343 in 1979 to 27 948 in 2002 for children aged 0-14 years. CONCLUSIONS: During the period 1979-2002, there were dramatic decreases in childhood mortality for total injuries and unintentional injuries as well as various degrees of reduction for all causes of injury except suffocation in children aged 10-14 years and drowning in infants. The reason for the reduction in injury mortality might be multifactoral.