Pediatric asthma among minority populations.

Minority children in the United States are at higher risk for asthma and related hospitalizations than white children, and their asthma tends to be more severe. Empirical studies have yet to demonstrate a definitive cause for their high risk and severity. The strongest candidate-predictors include cockroach allergens, household smoking, air pollution, poor access to quality health care, and underutilization of inhaled anti-inflammatory medications. In particular, recent studies have shown that black and Latino children continue to misuse health care and medications because of lack of access to culturally sensitive pediatricians who understand their needs and barriers, which contributes to more severe, poorly controlled asthma. It has been suggested that interventions for minority asthmatic children focus on improving access to asthma medical homes that deliver culturally appropriate and relevant care tailored to the needs of the family, improving family-provider communication, and improving knowledge and acceptance of asthma clinical practice guidelines, particularly for providers who work in community-based clinics.

Stability of plasma-polymerized allylamine films with sterilization by autoclaving.

The stability of plasma-polymerized allylamine films with autoclaving sterilization cycles was investigated. Polymerized films were deposited under pulsed plasma conditions using two different duty cycles to provide surfaces having different initial amino group concentrations. The film properties were analyzed by XPS and water contact angle measurements before and after autoclaving. The reactions of these surfaces with trifluoroacetic anhydride provided quantitation of the amino surface concentrations before and after autoclaving. In general, the plasma-polymerized films exhibit good stability vis à vis the autoclaving process, with relatively high retention of the surface amino groups. The results of this work are of specific value with respect to tissue culture studies in which surface modifications involving the introduction of amino groups have been shown to have high efficacy in promoting cell growth. The results obtained suggest that the simple one-step plasma treatment process is a viable alternative to the more cumbersome surface modification procedures currently employed to introduce amino groups in these tissue culture studies.