Effect of alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides) cell culture extract on wound healing repair in a human keratinocyte cell line.

BACKGROUND: Fitzroya cupressoides, commonly known as alerce, is an endemic conifer unique to southern South America. Alerce wood is renowned for its durability and resistance to biological degradation due to the presence of a particular class of secondary metabolite. Alerce extracts have been used in traditional medicine for different skin lesion treatments. AIMS: To develop a cell culture system to produce alerce extract and evaluate its cytotoxicity and effects on in vitro wound healing. METHODS: Cell cultures and aqueous extracts were prepared from alerce needles. Cytotoxicity was evaluated in keratinocytes (HaCaT line) and melanocites (C32 line) using the XTT assay. Wound healing was assayed with the scratch test in HaCaT cells, using mitomycin C to evaluate the role of cell division in the wound closure. RESULTS: Alerce cell culture extract has a significant effect on wound healing at different concentrations. No positive effects on the viability of normal and cancerous skin cells were observed. These results suggest that alerce extracts stimulate cell division in human skin epidermal cells in the context of wound repair. CONCLUSIONS: Bioactive compounds extracted from alerce cell cultures show promise as ingredients in dermocosmetic formulations, but further clinical studies are required to support these findings at the tissue level.

Methylboronic acid fertilization alleviates boron deficiency symptoms in Arabidopsis thaliana.

MAIN CONCLUSION: Our results showed that methylboronic acid is capable of alleviating boron deficiency, enhancing plant growth, and is less toxic than boric acid at higher concentrations. Boron is an essential plant micronutrient and its deficiency occurs in several regions globally, resulting in impaired plant growth. Boron fertilization is a common agricultural practice, but the action range of boron is narrow, sharply transitioning from deficiency to toxicity. Boric acid (BA) is the most common chemical form used in agriculture. In this work, we describe that methylboronic acid (MBA) is capable of alleviating boron deficiency in Arabidopsis. MBA is a boronic acid, but does not naturally occur in soils, necessitating synthesis. Other boronic acids have been described as boron competitors in plants, inhibiting auxin biosynthesis and root development. MBA is more water-soluble than BA and delivers the same amount of boron per molecule. We observed that Arabidopsis seedlings grown in the presence of MBA presented higher numbers of lateral roots and greater main root length compared to plants grown in BA. In addition, root hair length and leaf surface area were increased using MBA as a boron fertilizer. Finally, MBA was less toxic than BA at high concentrations, producing a slight reduction in the main root length but no decrease in total chlorophyll. Our results open a new opportunity to explore the use of a synthetic form of boron in agriculture, providing a tool for future research for plant nutrition.

Reported Child Health Status, Hispanic Ethnicity, and Language of Interview: United States, 2011-2012.

OBJECTIVES: This report has three objectives: a) to describe the reported health status of four subgroups of school-age children: Hispanic children with a Spanish interview (Hispanic­Spanish interview), Hispanic children with an English interview (Hispanic­English interview), non-Hispanic black children, and non-Hispanic white children; b) to describe selected characteristics of children in the four subgroups; and c) to consider whether the characteristics of children account for subgroup variations in reported health status. DATA SOURCE AND METHODS: Data from the 2011­2012 National Survey of Children's Health were used to describe the health status of children aged 5­17 years using three categories: a) poor or fair, b) good, and c) very good or excellent health. The reported health status of children in the four subgroups was examined using multinomial logistic regression, controlling for the effects of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and a measure of acculturation. RESULTS: Compared with children in the other subgroups, Hispanic­Spanish interview children were more likely to have reports of poor or fair health (10.6% compared with 1.8%­4.4%) and good health (39.7% compared with 7.7%­ 14.4%). Controlling for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and a measure of acculturation eliminated the subgroup differences in poor or fair health, but not good health. Even after adjustment for confounders, Hispanic­Spanish interview children more often were reported to have good health rather than very good or excellent health compared with children in the other subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Worse reported health status of Hispanic­Spanish interview children, compared with children in other subgroups, could not be explained completely by the confounders in the analysis. Additional research is needed to determine whether the worse reported health status of Hispanic children with Spanish interviews reflects the actual health conditions of these children or difficulties in translating the health status question.

Association between diagnosed ADHD and selected characteristics among children aged 4-17 years: United States, 2011-2013.

KEY FINDINGS: In 2011-2013, 9.5% of children aged 4-17 years were ever diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). For those aged 4-5, prevalence was 2.7%, 9.5% for those aged 6-11, and 11.8% for those aged 12-17. Among all age groups, prevalence of ever diagnosed ADHD was more than twice as high in boys as girls. Among those aged 6-17, prevalence was highest among non-Hispanic white children and lowest among Hispanic children. Among all age groups, prevalence was higher among children with public insurance compared with children with private insurance. Among children aged 4-11, prevalence was higher for children with family income less than 200% of the federal poverty threshold than for children with family income at 200% or more of the poverty threshold.

Preventive asthma medication discontinuation among children enrolled in fee-for-service Medicaid.

OBJECTIVE: Local-area studies demonstrate that preventive asthma medication discontinuation among Medicaid and Children's-Health-Insurance-Program (CHIP) enrolled children leads to adverse outcomes. We assessed time-to-discontinuation for preventive asthma medication and its risk factors among fee-for-service Medicaid/CHIP child beneficiaries. METHODS: National-Health-Interview-Survey participants (1997-2005) with ≥1 Medicaid- or CHIP-paid claims when 2-17 years old (n = 4262) were linked to Medicaid-Analytic-eXtract claims (1999-2008). Multivariate Cox proportional-hazards models to assess time-to-discontinuation (i.e. failing to refill prescriptions <30 d after previous supplies ran out) included demographic factors and medication regimen (inhaled corticosteroids [ICS], long-acting ß2-agonists, leukotriene modifiers, mast cell stabilizers, and monoclonal antibodies). RESULTS: Sixty-three percent discontinued preventive asthma medications by 90 d after the first prescription. Adolescents and toddlers had slightly higher hazards of discontinuation (adjusted hazard ratios [aHR], 1.13; 95% CI, 1.05-1.23; and 1.12; 1.03-1.21, respectively) versus 5-11-year-olds, as did Hispanics (aHR, 1.24; 1.13-1.35) and non-Hispanic blacks (aHR, 1.17; 1.07-1.28) versus non-Hispanic whites, children in households with one adult and ≥3 children (aHR, 1.17; 1.05-1.30) versus multiple adults and ≤2 children, and children with caregivers' educational-attainment ≤12th grade (aHR, 1.11; 1.02-1.20) versus caregivers with some college. Compared to regimens including both ICS and leukotriene modifiers, discontinuation was greater for those on ICS without leukotriene modifiers or on other preventive asthma medications (aHR, 1.67; 1.56-1.80; and 2.23; 1.78-2.80, respectively). CONCLUSION: More than 60% of children enrolled in fee-for-service Medicaid/CHIP discontinued preventive asthma medications by 90 d. Risk was increased for minorities and children from disadvantaged households. Understanding these factors may inform future pediatric asthma guidelines.

Concordance between survey report of Medicaid enrollment and linked Medicaid administrative records in two national studies.

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) are population-based surveys that have each been linked to administrative data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS): the Medicaid Analytic eXtract (MAX) files. These linked data were used to examine, among children under age 18 years, respondent-level concordance between Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment as reported in each survey (NHANES and NHIS) and as indicated by administrative data from the MAX files. Concordance was defined as having Medicaid/CHIP reported as a health insurance source in the survey questionnaire and having a CMS Medicaid/CHIP administrative record in the same month and year as the interview. Records were also considered concordant if there was no report of Medicaid/CHIP coverage based on the interview response and no match to the CMS administrative records for Medicaid enrollment. Between NHANES and MAX, 88% of observations were concordant with respect to Medicaid or CHIP enrollment, yielding a Kappa of 0.71. Between NHIS and MAX, 89% of observations were concordant with respect to Medicaid or CHIP enrollment, yielding a Kappa of 0.73. These concordance rates provide support for the use of both administrative and NHANES and NHIS as a valuable tool for public health researchers and survey methodologists.

Identifying emotional and behavioral problems in children aged 4-17 years: United States, 2001-2007.

OBJECTIVES: This report examines two measures that identify children with emotional and behavioral problems: high scores based on questions in the brief version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and a single question about serious (definite or severe) overall emotional and behavioral difficulties. Children were classified into four groups, those with: only high scores on the brief SDQ, only serious overall difficulties, both high scores on the brief SDQ and serious overall difficulties, and neither high scores on brief SDQ nor serious overall difficulties. Children's characteristics, conditions, and service use in these four groups were compared. METHODS: Data from the 2001-2007 National Health Interview Survey identified the emotional and behavioral problems, characteristics, conditions, and service use of children aged 4-17 years. RESULTS: Approximately 7% of children had either high scores on the brief SDQ or serious overall difficulties, with 2% having only high scores on the brief SDQ, 3% having only serious overall difficulties, and 2% having both high scores on the brief SDQ and serious overall difficulties. Characteristics of the three groups of children identified with emotional and behavioral problems differed from each other and from children without problems. Children in each of the groups with emotional and behavioral problems, compared with children without problems, were more likely to have developmental conditions and to have used services. Additionally, children with serious overall difficulties (either with or without high scores on the brief SDQ) were more likely to have developmental conditions, receive special education, and use mental health services than children with only high scores on the brief SDQ.

Changes in pregnancy mortality ascertainment: United States, 1999-2005.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate mortality ratios for all reported pregnancy deaths in the United States, 1999-2005, and to estimate the effect of the 1999 implementation of International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) and adoption of the U.S. Standard Certificate of Death, 2003 Revision, on the ascertainment of deaths resulting from pregnancy. METHODS: We combined information on pregnancy deaths from the National Vital Statistics System and the Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System to estimate maternal (during or within 42 days of pregnancy) and pregnancy-related (during or within 1 year of pregnancy) mortality ratios (deaths per 100,000 live births). Data for 1995-1997, 1999-2002, and 2003-2005 were compared in order to estimate the effects of the change to ICD-10 and the inclusion of a pregnancy checkbox on the death certificate. RESULTS: The maternal mortality ratio increased significantly from 11.6 in 1995-1997 to 13.1 for 1999-2002 and 15.3 in 2003-2005; the pregnancy-related mortality ratio increased significantly from 12.6 to 14.7 and 18.1 during the same periods. Vital statistics identified significantly more indirect maternal deaths in 2002-2005 than in 1999-2002. Between 2002 and 2005, mortality ratios increased significantly among 19 states using the revised death certificate with a pregnancy checkbox; ratios did not increase in states without a checkbox. CONCLUSION: Changes in ICD-10 and the 2003 revision of the death certificate increased ascertainment of pregnancy deaths. The changes may also have contributed to misclassification of some deaths as maternal in the vital statistics system. Combining data from both systems estimates higher pregnancy mortality ratios than from either system individually.

Pregnancy-related mortality among women with multifetal pregnancies.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relative risk of pregnancy-related mortality between multifetal pregnancies and singleton pregnancies. METHODS: We used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System to examine singleton and multifetal pregnancy-related deaths among women with a live birth or fetal death from 1979-2000. The plurality-specific (singleton or multifetal) pregnancy-based mortality ratio was defined as the number of pregnancy-related deaths per 100,000 pregnancies with a live birth. We analyzed the risk of death due to pregnancy for singleton and multifetal pregnancies by age, race, education, marital status, and cause of death. RESULTS: Of 4,992 pregnancy-related deaths in 1979-2000, 4.2% (209 deaths) were among women with multifetal pregnancies. The risk of pregnancy death among women with twin and higher-order pregnancies was 3.6 times that of women with singleton pregnancies (20.8 compared with 5.8). The leading causes of death were similar for women with singleton pregnancies and women with multifetal pregnancies: embolism, hypertensive complications of pregnancy, hemorrhage, and infection. CONCLUSION: Women with multifetal pregnancies have a significantly higher risk of pregnancy-related death than their counterparts with singleton pregnancies; this holds true for all women regardless of age, race, marital status, and level of education. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II-2.

An assessment of pregnancy-related mortality in the United States.

Deaths from pregnancy complications remain an important public health concern. Nationally, two systems collect information on the number of deaths and characteristics of the women who died from complications of pregnancy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reports maternal mortality through the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS); CDC National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion's Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System (PMSS) conducts epidemiological surveillance of pregnancy-related deaths. The numbers of deaths reported by these two systems have differed over the past two decades; our objective was to determine the magnitude and nature of these differences. For 1995-97, we compared maternal deaths in the NVSS with pregnancy-related deaths in PMSS for the 50 States, Washington DC and New York City. Pregnancy-related deaths whose underlying cause was assigned to ICD-9 codes 630-676 by NVSS were classified as maternal deaths; those coded outside 630-676 were not. There were 1387 pregnancy-related deaths in PMSS and 898 maternal deaths in the NVSS; 54% of these deaths were reported in both systems, 40% in PMSS only, and 6% in NVSS only. Pregnancy-related deaths due to haemorrhage, embolism, and hypertensive complications of pregnancy were proportionately more often identified by NVSS as maternal deaths than those from cardiovascular complications, medical conditions or infection. From the 1471 unduplicated deaths classified as maternal or pregnancy-related from either reporting system, we estimated a combined pregnancy-related mortality ratio of 12.6/100,000 live births for 1995-97, compared with 11.9 for PMSS only and 7.5 for NVSS only. The identification and classification of these events is dependent on the provision of complete and accurate cause-of-death information on death certificates. Changes in the guidelines for coding maternal deaths under ICD-10 may change the relationship in the number of deaths resulting from pregnancy reported by these two systems.