Reliability and Validity of the Chinese Version of the Infant/Toddler Sensory Profile.

IMPORTANCE: In Chinese-speaking societies, a reliable and valid measure is needed to enable early identification of young children's challenges in sensory processing. OBJECTIVE: To examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Infant/Toddler Sensory Profile (ITSP-C) when used with Taiwanese children. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Multiple settings. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 367 typically developing (TD) infants ages 0-6 mo (mean [M] age = 3.44 mo, standard deviation [SD] = 1.82) and 677 toddlers ages 7-36 mo (M age = 22.33 mo, SD = 8.15), along with 42 toddlers with developmental disabilities (DD; M age = 28.4 mo, SD = 6.7). OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The ITSP, a caregiver questionnaire that measures how children respond to sensory events in daily life, was translated and cross-culturally adapted into a Chinese version (ITSP-C). RESULTS: Internal consistency was high for the 0-6 mo subscale (α = .80) and the 7-36 mo subscale (α = .82). Test-retest reliability was excellent for the 7-36 mo subscale (intraclass correlation coefficient = .94). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the ITSP-C discriminated between children with DD and TD children. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The ITSP was successfully adapted to Chinese with similar reliability and validity to the original ITSP. The 7-36 mo subscale had a higher level of reliability than the 0-6 mo subscale, and quadrant scores were more reliable than section scores. Moreover, the ITSP-C discriminated children with DD from TD children on the basis of their sensory processing patterns. WHAT THIS ARTICLE ADDS: The ITSP-C has sound psychometric properties and support for its use in early identification of sensory processing difficulties in young Chinese-speaking children.

Effect of Paenibacillus cellulase pretreatment for fiber surface.

Refining is the major process of paper formation. This study focuses on the impact of a specific enzyme (Paenibacillus cellulase) for fibers on the surfaces, the roughness and height of the fibers are also investigated. Effects of enzyme dosages and the mechanical refining action (PFI revolution) on fiber physical properties were also analyzed. The fibers were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), their roughness and height were analyzed by Atomic force microscopy (AFM). Results show that the Paenibacillus cellulase pretreatment increased the drainability of both kinds of pulp at the same level of refining energy. In other words, enzymatic treatment on pulp refining consumed less refining revolutions to reach the same drainability compared to the untreated pulp. Although the viscosity of both kinds of pulp was degraded with the enzymatic treatment, the physical properties of paper had no significantly negative influence on them. The results indicated the treatment with cellulase swelled the fibers in the absence of refining, and there were better fibrillation on the fibers treated with cellulase after refining. Furthermore, the statistical analysis of AFM suggested that both kinds of pulp treated with low cellulase dosage with PFI refining had higher roughness.

Translocation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers from field-contaminated soils to an edible plant.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), recognised emerging contaminants, widely exist and persist in the environment. Samples were taken from a heavily contaminated farm in Taiwan located near a factory known to regularly use PBDEs. Sweet potato vines (Ipomoea batatas L., a commonly consumed vegetable in Asia) growing in the surrounding farmlands were found to contain a high concentration of PBDEs of 19.36 ng/g. The possibility of PBDEs translocation into sweet potato vines from soil samples was evaluated. To prevent the PBDEs from air through that factory, the pot experiments were performed in a greenhouse, which showed that the PBDEs concentration of 24 congeners (tri- through deca-BDE) in the sweet potato vine after 14-days cultivation was 29.90 ng/g, 40-times higher than that in the contaminated soil. After another 14-days, the PBDE concentration decreased to 12.30 ng/g as high-brominated PBDEs were transformed to medium- and/or low-brominated PBDEs in the sweet potato vine. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) values exceeded 20.0 for most of the deca-, nona-, and octa-BDEs but BCFs were below 18.9 for the rest of the medium- and low-brominated PBDEs. Our results demonstrate that high-brominated PBDEs can translocate into leafy vegetables from soils, and sweet potato vines tend to accumulate high-brominated PBDEs into their edible parts.

Partition uptake of a brominated diphenyl ether by the edible plant root of white radish (Raphanus sativus L.).

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are of a class of emerging contaminants. In this study, the accumulation of 4-bromodiphenyl ether (BDE-3) by different parts of a live white radish was investigated. Different cultural media (hydroponics, silica sand, and soil) were used to sustain the radish plant during its uptake and in-plant translocation of BDE-3. The results showed that BDE-3 can be translocated from the roots to the aboveground organs and the accumulated levels of BDE-3 in different parts of the white radish followed the order for the three types of cultivation: fibrous roots > peels > main roots > leaves. The results were analyzed by the aid of the partition-limited model for the plant uptake. The relevant partition coefficients (KOC and Kd) and uptake parameters of BDE-3 with plant components (Kpt and Klip) were obtained for analyzing the BDE-3 distribution. The partition-limited model offers a significant insight into the uptakes of BDE-3 by the various components of live white radishes. The types of cultivation affected the total sorption level, translocation factors (TFs), extent to equilibrium (αpt), and root concentration factors (RCFs).

Sorption equilibrium of emerging and traditional organic contaminants in leafy rape, Chinese mustard, lettuce and Chinese cabbage.

Emerging and petroleum contaminants could transfer into food chains by plant uptake, potentially causing food security problems. To build a prediction model, the sorption equilibrium and uptake kinetics of toluene, p-xylene, naphthalene, bisphenol A, and 4-bromo-diphenyl ether in some common leafy vegetables including leafy rape, Chinese mustard, lettuce and Chinese cabbage were examined. The kinetic experiments revealed that high sorption rates were observed for these plants that had high lipid contents. For two emerging contaminants with polar functional groups, their resulting isotherms were strongly linear (R(2) = 0.92 to 1.00), indicating that the sorption was dominated by partitioning. Moreover, regression correlation showed that log Klip, the lipid-water partition coefficient, and log Kow, the octanol-water coefficient, for these organic chemicals were strongly linear-related, following the equation: log Klip = 0.894 × log Kow+0.219 (R(2) = 0.953). The correlation equation allows the prediction of the sorption capacity of plant species for an organic compound when the plant composition and the log Kow of the chemical are determined. This improved model containing different organic chemicals with a wide range of log Kow (2.73-4.80) and including emerging contaminants was established, which shows further utilization for predicting the sorption of organic contaminants by plants.

Effects of chlorhexidine on stem cells from exfoliated deciduous teeth.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Chlorhexidine (CHX) is a type of chemical antiseptic that is widely used in dental practice. Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) are multipotent cells. However, there is little knowledge about the effects of chlorhexidine on SHED cells. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of CHX on SHED. METHODS: SHED cells were treated with 0.1%, 0.01%, 0.001%, and 0.0001% CHX for 10 seconds to test the effects of different concentrations of CHX on SHED cells. The cells were also treated with 0.01% CHX for 10 seconds, 1 minute, and 5 minutes to test the time effects of CHX on SHED cells. Cell proliferation was investigated by a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, and an autonomously replicating sequence (ARS) assay was used for the evaluation of the mineralization potential. RESULTS: This study demonstrated that different concentrations of CHX had cytotoxic effects on SHED cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The proliferation of SHED cells was inhibited by approximately 50% by the use of 0.01% CHX. It was also found that the cell proliferation and mineralization potential of SHED cells were inhibited to some degree by different concentrations of CHX. CONCLUSION: Different concentrations of CHX can inhibit SHED cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner. In addition, the mineralization potential of SHED cells is inhibited to some degree by different concentrations of CHX.

Culture, parenting, and child behavioral problems: a comparative study of cross-cultural immigrant families and native-born families in Taiwan.

Little is known about the interplay of cultural, parenting, and sociodemographic/socioeconomic factors on children's behavioral problems, especially within culturally mixed families in Chinese society. This study compares the presence of behavioral problems between children from families with an immigrant mother and those from native-born families in a randomly selected sample of 957 children aged 6 to 12 years from three counties in central Taiwan. Behavioral problems were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist completed by parents and the Teacher's Report Form. Parenting styles were assessed using the Parental Bonding Instrument completed by children. Children of immigrant mothers had higher scores for all behavioral syndromes based on the parent's report. However, in the teacher's report a difference was only observed for withdrawn/depressed syndrome. Children of immigrant mothers were more likely, and children with high paternal care were less likely, to have internalizing and total problems in the parent's report. For the teacher's report, only high education in fathers was associated with decreased internalizing and total problems in children. These findings suggest that children growing up in a cross-cultural environment with an immigrant mother, as opposed to a native-born Taiwanese family environment, are more likely to have higher internalizing problems and total behavioral problem scores, due to a number of cultural, parenting, and sociodemographic factors. Children's behaviors appear to be more influenced by fathers' than mothers' parenting styles, regardless of family type. The study findings imply that unequal health and social conditions exist between cross-cultural and native-born families.

Distinctive sorption mechanisms of 4-chlorophenol with black carbons as elucidated by different pH.

Black carbon (BC) has been considered as an important sorbent in the environment in recent years due to its high sorption capacity and unique sorption behavior. Sorption characteristics of black carbons from two main sources were investigated to get a better understanding of organic chemical fate in the environment. The present study showed sorption mechanisms of 4-chlorophenol, a common organic contaminant in the surroundings, in two kinds of black carbons, soot surrogate (BC1) and environmental char (BC2) derived from rice straw. Sorption capacity of 4-chlorophenol was much higher in BC1 than on BC2 due to the larger surface area of BC1. However, the surface-area normalized sorption coefficients (sorption capacity per surface area) of BC2 were higher than those of BC1, indicating electrostatic attraction and actions of polar foundational groups on BC2 can react with 4-chlorophenol. With increasing temperature, sorption of BC1 decreased but the sorption of BC2 significantly increased at pH 10 and only slightly increased at pH 4. An exothermic sorption reaction was found for BC1; however, an endothermic reaction of chemical sorption occurred on BC2 at pH 10 due to the electrostatic attraction. At pH4, sorption capacity of BC2 decreased and the small positive sorption enthalpy indicated that less electrostatic attractions occurred because of the neutral form of 4-chlorophenol and the domination of mainly hydrophobic interactions.

Characterization and pulp refining activity of a Paenibacillus campinasensis cellulase expressed in Escherichia coli.

The Cel-BL11 gene from Paenibacillus campinasensis BL11 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli as a His-tag fusion protein. Zymographic analysis of the recombinant protein revealed cellulase activity corresponding to a protein with a 38-kDa molecular weight. The optimum temperature and pH for purified cellulase were 60 °C and pH 7.0, respectively. The enzyme retained more than 80% activity after 8h at 60 °C at pH 6 and 7. The cellulase has a Km of 11.25 mg/ml and a Vmax of 1250 µmol/min/mg with carboxylmethyl cellulose (CMC). Then enzyme was active on Avicel, swollen Avicel, CMC, barley ß-glucan, laminarin in the presence of 100 mM acetate buffer. It was inhibited by Hg²âº, Cu²âº and Zn²âº. Significant kraft pulp refining energy saving, 10%, was exhibited by the pretreatment of this cellulase applied at 2 IU per gram of oven-dried pulp. Broad pH and temperature stability render this cellulase a convenient applicability toward current mainstream biomass conversion and other industrial processes.