Preferential responses to faces in superior temporal and medial prefrontal cortex in three-year-old children.

Perceiving faces and understanding emotions are key components of human social cognition. Prior research with adults and infants suggests that these social cognitive functions are supported by superior temporal cortex (STC) and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). We used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to characterize functional responses in these cortical regions to faces in early childhood. Three-year-old children (n = 88, M(SD) = 3.15(.16) years) passively viewed faces that varied in emotional content and valence (happy, angry, fearful, neutral) and, for fearful and angry faces, intensity (100%, 40%), while undergoing fNIRS. Bilateral STC and MPFC showed greater oxygenated hemoglobin concentration values to all faces relative to objects. MPFC additionally responded preferentially to happy faces relative to neutral faces. We did not detect preferential responses to angry or fearful faces, or overall differences in response magnitude by emotional valence (100% happy vs. fearful and angry) or intensity (100% vs. 40% fearful and angry). In exploratory analyses, preferential responses to faces in MPFC were not robustly correlated with performance on tasks of early social cognition. These results link and extend adult and infant research on functional responses to faces in STC and MPFC and contribute to the characterization of the neural correlates of early social cognition.

Associations among prenatal stress, maternal antioxidant intakes in pregnancy, and child temperament at age 30 months.

Prenatal stress and prenatal nutrition each have demonstrable impact on fetal development, with implications for child neurodevelopment and behavior. However, few studies have examined their joint influences despite evidence of potential interactive effects. We examined associations among prenatal stress, prenatal antioxidant intakes, and child temperament in a sociodemographically diverse pregnancy cohort (N=137 mother-child dyads). In mid-pregnancy, mothers completed an assessment of recent negative life events as a measure of prenatal stress and an assessment of prenatal diet. When the children were 30 months of age, mothers completed the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire-Very Short form, which provides scores on child Negative Affectivity, Effortful Control, and Surgency/Extraversion. Linear regressions tested associations between maternal prenatal negative life events and child temperament, and effect modification by maternal prenatal antioxidant intakes (vitamins A, C, and E, magnesium, zinc, selenium, ß-carotene). Analyses revealed that increased maternal prenatal negative life events were associated with higher child Negative Affectivity (ß=0.08, P=0.009) but not with child Effortful Control (ß=-0.03, P=0.39) or Surgency/Extraversion (ß=0.04, P=0.14). Prenatal intakes of zinc and selenium modified this effect: Maternal exposure to prenatal negative life events was associated with higher child Negative Affectivity in the presence of lower intakes of zinc and selenium. Modification effects approached significance for vitamins A and C. The results suggest that the combination of elevated stress exposures and lower antioxidant intakes in pregnancy increases the likelihood of heightened child temperamental negative affectivity. Increased antioxidant intakes during pregnancy may protect against influences of prenatal stress on child temperament.

Drug-usage evaluation by disease state: developing protocols.

The Joint Commission definition of drug-usage evaluation (DUE) also applies to DUE by disease state. The criteria for disease process selection, key processes being evaluated, methods to develop initial DUE protocols, and DUE validation and approval processes are reviewed. The treatment of community-acquired pneumonia is a disease state DUE performed at Saint Joseph Health Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The preliminary protocol was developed by a collaborative network of clinical pharmacists in the metropolitan area. Outcome measures were included in the evaluation. The results were used as baseline data in the development of a pneumonia clinical pathway.

Use of hand-held computers to record and analyze intervention data.

Using the Wizard to document clinical activities has been well received by the clinical staff. What had previously been a dreaded task has become an ongoing part of daily activities. The revised Clinical Activity Log also provided the staff pharmacists with an easier method of documenting their clinical activities. The task of inputing the information from the staff pharmacists' paper logs into the computer is time consuming and is currently being done by the clinical staff. Procurement of additional Wizards for the staff pharmacists to use in the central pharmacy and satellite pharmacies is currently being considered. Using the Wizard has enabled the clinical staff to document clinical activities into the computer database in an ongoing manner throughout the day. Documentation has increased and is now more complete. Productivity is being monitored. Physician responses and patient outcomes are now being documented. Most importantly the computerized system allows for easy retrieval of the documented information for evaluation so that tracking and trending can be done and we can thereby continue to improve the quality of pharmaceutical care being provided.

Spastic entropion after cataract surgery.

Spastic entropion is an acute eyelid condition seen in patients with acute inflammatory ocular conditions. It has been reported after cataract surgery. We describe three cases of spastic entropion after cataract surgery that did not resolve after the ocular irritation subsided. All were associated with eyelid and/or cul-de-sac injection of antibiotics and corticosteroids or anesthetic solution. All had dehiscence of the capsulopalpebral fascia. Spastic entropion is an evolving stage toward permanent entropion.

Radiation-induced alpha-thalassemia in mice.

The clinical hematologic change in 2 groups of progeny from mice carrying radiation-induced strain SEC alpha-chain deficiencies was found to be similar to the hematologic alterations in persons with alpha-thalassemia. The heterozygous deletion or inactivation of the alpha-chain gene in mice caused an anemia similar to alpha-thalassemina minor in persons. The alpha-chain deficiency in mice created an erythrocytosis, reticulocytosis, and microcytic, hypochromic anemia comparable with the changes in human alpha-thalassemia minor resulting from deletion of the alpha-chain gene. These mouse mutants are the only known animal models of human thalassemia. A comparison of hematologic values obtained from progeny possessing an alpha-chain gene deficiency and from progeny possessing a beta-chain duplication suggested that the deficiency of alpha-chain synthesis, rather than a simple imbalance between the amounts of alpha- and beta-chains produced, was primarily responsible for the altered hematologic characteristics in these alpha-thalassemic mice.