Alternate scoring of the Bayley-III improves prediction of performance on Griffiths Mental Development Scales before school entry in preschoolers with developmental concerns.

BACKGROUND: The Bayley-III is widely used as an assessment tool in young children; however, its standard composite scores appear to under-estimate delay, severe and profound delay cannot be identified, and the lack of an overall score makes it difficult to compare results with later assessments. AIMS: To explore the use of Bayley-III quotient subtest and average scores, compared with composite subtest and average scores for both clinical and research purposes, comparing their ability to predict performance on the Griffiths Mental Development Scales (Griffiths) before school entry. METHOD: One hundred preschoolers referred for a diagnosis were assessed on the Bayley-III before 3.5 years. They were reassessed before school entry on the Griffiths. Composite and quotient scores were calculated and their ability to predict outcome compared across the score range. RESULTS: Averaging the three subscale quotient scores (Bayley-AQS) gave a similar mean score for this sample (61.1, SD 16.2) as for the Griffiths general quotient (Griffiths-GQ) (61.1, SD 19.6). The average composite scores (Bayley-ACS) had a significantly higher mean (74.2, SD 12.1). Correlations between the average scores on the Bayley-III and the Griffiths-GQ (0.8) were at least as strong as any of the individual subscale scores. Kappa coefficients showed that Bayley-AQS was superior to Bayley-ACS for predicting moderate and severe delay. Average change in scores was -0.1 for Bayley-AQS, and -13.2 for Bayley-ACS. Improvement in category of delay was seen in 28% of children using Bayley-AQS, and deterioration in 22%. In contrast, 5% improvement was seen using Bayley-ACS, and 65% deterioration. CONCLUSIONS: The three directly assessed subscales of the Bayley-III can be averaged to give an overall score. Bayley-AQS are a better measure of development in young children with delay than Bayley-ACS, and most children maintain their developmental classification using this method of scoring when re-assessed before school entry.

Mortality due to trauma in cats attending veterinary practices in central and south-east England.

OBJECTIVES: To identify important demographic and spatial factors associated with the risk of trauma and, more specifically, road traffic accident-related mortality, relative to other diagnoses in cats. METHODS: A sample of 2738 cats with mortality data derived from the VetCompass primary-care veterinary database was selected for detailed study. Generalised linear models investigated risk factors for mortality due to trauma and due to road traffic accidents versus other causes. RESULTS: A greater proportion of younger cats died through traumatic and road traffic accident-attributed causes relative to other causes of mortality. There was no apparent association of trauma- or road traffic accident-related death with urban environments or areas where there is increased human population density. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: These findings highlight that veterinary advice which aims to reduce the likelihood of death through trauma, and specifically road traffic accidents, should focus on demographic attributes including age. All geographical locations should be considered as of equal risk.

Influence of combinations of oat hulls and sodium trimetaphosphate upon dental caries in the rat.

Two rat caries studies were conducted in which oat hulls, sodium trimetaphosphate, and combinations thereof were incorporated into two different caries-producing diets. The type of diet used was found to influence the anti-caries effects of oat hulls. In many instances, the cariostatic effect of the two agents was additive or even synergistic.

Animal studies concerning the cariogenicity of dry breakfast cereals.

Four studies were performed in rats and hamsters concerning the cariogenicity of cereals and the role of sucrose in that process. The findings indicate that sucrose content per se does not necessarily reflect the cariogenic potential. Presweetened cereals were more conducive to the formation of smooth surface caries in the hamster than were nonpresweetened cereals while no major differences between the cereals were observed in occlusal caries in rats.

Antimicrobial agents and dental caries in the rat.

Two rat plaque-caries studies indicated that a 0.2% chlorhexidine solution topically applied to rat teeth was effective in reducing dental plaque. This reduction in plaque was accompanied by marked reductions in smooth surface caries, but not in sulcal lesions.

Influence of fluoride upon plaque and gingivitis in the beagle dog.

Two studies were conducted to explore the effects of twice daily topical applications of NaF, SnF2, and an amine fluoride at equivalent fluoride concentrations (0.1%) upon plaque and gingivitis in the dog. Although some trends toward modest benefits were noted in certain instances, none of the agents exerted a significant effect upon either parameter.

Influence of hexetidine upon plaque and gingivitis in the beagle dog.

Two studies were performed in beagle dogs to determine the effect of 0.2% hexetidine upon plaque and gingivitis. In both instances, hexetidine exerted no significant effect while 0.2% chlorhexidine resulted in reductions in both plaque and gingivitis of about 45 and 50%, respectively.

Factors relating to dental stain formation in the rat.

A series of studies was conducted to investigate the use of the rat as an in vivo model for studies of dental stain and to identify dietary factors which influence stain formation in this model. It was determined that appreciable amounts of stain formed on the molar teeth of rats provided a synthetic diet containing lactalbumin, and the amount of stain increased throughout a four-week test period. Stain formation was also observed when rats were provided their diet by gastric intubation. Topical applications of chlorhexidine generally resulted in an increase in stain formation, as did the presence of tea in the drinking water. These studies support the use of the rat for investigations of dental stain.

Influence of lithium upon dental caries in the rat.

Two studies were performed on rats to determine the post-eruptive cariostatic effects of lithium alone and in combination with fluoride. The results failed to demonstrate any cariostatic effects of lithium when evaluated in this manner, nor any enhancement by lithium of the cariostatic activity of fluoride.

The use of the beagle dog as a dental stain model.

Two studies were conducted to assess stain accumulation in beagle dogs following four wk of treatments with water or chlorhexidine. Clinical stain assessments were made by two examiners using different grading procedures. Both scoring methods demonstrated increased stain associated with chlorhexidine usage, and the results for both examiners appeared to be reproducible from one study to the other.

An incisor plaque model in rats.

An in vivo model for studying plaque accumulation in rats has been described. This model investigates plaque formation on the mandibular incisors in animals which have been found to be rapid plaque-formers during a pre-test period. The accessibility of these tooth surfaces permits the removal of plaque prior to initiation of tests, the use of test groups balanced on the basis of plaque-forming potential, and interim assessments of plaque formation throughout the test period. In addition, baseline plaque scores of near zero can be attained, thereby permitting investigations of the impact of experimental measures on plaque formation. Moreover, the model permits intermittent plaque assessments throughout the test period. This model was found to have adequate sensitivity to distinguish effects between antimicrobial agents known to differ in their clinical activity and to detect differences between varying concentrations of the same agent.

Comparisons of various salivary parameters in smokers before and after the use of a nicotine-containing chewing gum.

This study was designed to compare various salivary parameters between smokers and non-smokers and to determine the influence of a nicotine-containing chewing gum (used to aid in quit-smoking efforts) upon these same parameters. At the baseline examination, subjects were assigned to one of three groups: non-smokers who did not utilize any gum, smokers provided a nicotine-containing gum, and smokers provided a placebo gum. Saliva was collected from all subjects and analyzed for acidogenicity and buffer pH as well as for levels of thiocyanate, lactoperoxidase, lysozyme, lactoferrin, and secretory IgA. After 15 weeks of gum usage, saliva was again collected from each subject and the identical analyses performed. Significant differences were observed between smokers and non-smokers with regard to three parameters: The saliva of smokers contained greater concentrations of thiocyanate and lower concentrations of lactoferrin, at the baseline examination and after the 15-week test period. In addition, the CO content of alveolar air was higher in smokers at both examination periods. In contrast, the use of the nicotine gum per se had no effect on any of the test parameters.

Influence of selected fatty acids upon plaque formation and caries in the rat.

Weanling rats were given high-sucrose cariogenic diets containing 2 per cent lauric acid, linoleic acid, nonanoic acid or monolaurin. Plaque accumulation was determined on the incisors of half the animals during only the last 3 days of the study and on the remaining animals at the conclusion of a 21-day test period when both sulcal and smooth-surface caries were assessed. No significant differences between the test groups in food consumption were observed nor were there any differences in body weight gain. The least amount of plaque was observed in the animals given monolaurin; the other fatty acids exerted no significant effect upon plaque accumulation. The smooth-surface caries data indicated that the least number of lesions occurred in the animals on the diet containing monolaurin. Nonanoic acid was significantly more effective in limiting sulcal caries than any of the other fatty acids studied. Thus both monolaurin and nonanoic acid have significant cariostatic activity in the rat.

Nonmainstream dialect use and specific language impairment.

Most work looking at specific language impairment (SLI) has been done in the context of mainstream dialects. This paper extends the study of SLI to two nonmainstream dialects: a rural version of Southern African American English (SAAE) and a rural version of Southern White English (SWE). Data were language samples from 93 4- to 6-year-olds who lived in southeastern Louisiana. Forty were classified as speakers of SAAE, and 53 were classified as speakers of SWE. A third were previously diagnosed as SLI; the others served as either age-matched (6N) or language-matched (4N) controls. The two dialects differed in frequency of usage on 14 of the 35 coded morphosyntactic surface patterns; speakers of these dialects could be successfully discriminated (94%) from each other in a discriminant analysis using just four of these patterns. Across dialects, four patterns resulted in main effects that were related to diagnostic condition (SLI vs. 6N), and a slightly different set of four patterns showed effects that were related to developmental processes (4N vs. 6N). More interestingly, the surface characteristics of SLI were found to manifest in the two dialects in different ways. A discriminant function based solely on SAAE speakers tended to misclassify SWE children with SLI as having normal language, and a discriminant function based on SWE speakers tended to misclassify SAAE unaffected children as SLI. Patterns within the SLI profile that cut across the two dialects included difficulties with tense marking and question formation. The results provide important direction for future studies and argue for the inclusion of contrastive as well as noncontrastive features of dialects within SLI research.

How-to-do-it quit-smoking strategies for the dental office team: an eight-step program.

Dental personnel have an ethical responsibility to inform their patients about the hazards of tobacco use. Because oral health team members generally see their patients on a frequent and recurring basis, these treatment providers have unparalleled opportunities to educate and help those who smoke to adopt a smokefree lifestyle. Dental practitioners can readily incorporate smoking cessation efforts into their routine dental practices by using an eight-phase smoking intervention program. The overall focus of this program is to: "Ask" patients about smoking or smokeless tobacco usage; "Advise" tobacco-using patients to quit; "Assist" interested patients in quitting; and "Arrange" for supportive follow-up. By providing these services, dental professionals can do their part to help create a smokefree America by the year 2000.

Role of aerobic exercise in reduction of stress.

During the past several years, excessive stress has come to be recognized as a threat not only to quality but also to length of life. There is increasing evidence that the emotionally distressed individual may have an increased susceptibility to a number of pathologic conditions. Physical activity, in the form of aerobic exercise, is a very fruitful means for coping with stress. The popular forms of aerobic activities that are most often pursued in order to help general cardiovascular condition may, in effect, improve the mental health of the individual. There are no guarantees that if you follow these recommendations you will live longer. However, the life you live will be healthier, happier, more productive, and less stressful.

The smokeless tobacco 'time bomb'.

All healthcare professionals need to become aware of the extent and seriousness of smokeless tobacco use. In this article, the authors briefly review the current status of smokeless tobacco and describe its usage patterns and practices, pharmacologic (addictive) aspects, and associated health problems. They also suggest ways that primary care physicians can discover or prevent smokeless tobacco use in their patients.

Problem-based learning and the dental school library.

A major curriculum revision involving the utilization of problem-based learning was implemented at Indiana University School of Dentistry in the summer of 1997. Two of the main goals of this new student-centered curriculum were to promote critical thinking skills and to encourage a desire for lifelong learning, both of which were anticipated to increase student use of the library. This study examined circulation at the library for three years immediately prior to, and for three years immediately following, the curricular change. Results show that library circulation has increased significantly since the pedagogical change. This suggests that students in the new curriculum place more emphasis on the library as a learning resource than did their traditional curriculum counterparts.