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Biomedical subjects

K G Scott

Publications and source records attributed to K G Scott.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Birth weight and school-age disabilities: a population-based study.

Mortality rates have declined for low birth weight and extremely low birth weight infants. Yet, the consequences of survival for these children may be adverse developmental outcomes. Few studies to date have examined school-age outcomes for these children. The participants in this study represented a population-based cohort of Florida children who were born between 1982 and 1984 and who were receiving a public school education in 1996-1997. Linkage methodology was used to establish a cohort of 267,213 children aged 12-15 years with both birth certificate and school records. Birth weights were stratified into 500-g increments beginning with <or=999 g; 17% of the population had some school-identified disability. Risk ratios for specified school-identified disabilities increased as birth weight decreased for all birth weight strata of <or=3,499 g. Narrow increments of birth weights may better portray a more accurate estimate of risk for infants born at extremes than the conventional definition of <2,500 g.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Jejunal brush border microvillous alterations in Giardia muris-infected mice: role of T lymphocytes and interleukin-6.

Intestinal colonization with the protozoan Giardia causes diffuse brush border microvillous alterations and disaccharidase deficiencies, which in turn are responsible for intestinal malabsorption and maldigestion. The role of T cells and/or cytokines in the pathogenesis of Giardia-induced microvillous injury remains unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the role of T cells and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the brush border pathophysiology of acute murine giardiasis in vivo. Athymic nude (nu(-)/nu(-)) CD-1 mice and isogenic immunocompetent (nu(+)/nu(+)) CD-1 mice (4 weeks old) received an axenic Giardia muris trophozoite inoculum or vehicle (control) via orogastric gavage. Weight gain and food intake were assessed daily. On day 6, segments of jejunum were assessed for parasite load, brush border ultrastructure, IL-6 content, maltase and sucrase activities, villus-crypt architecture, and intraepithelial lymphocyte (IEL) infiltration. Despite similar parasitic loads on day 6, infected immunocompetent animals, but not infected nude mice, showed a diffuse loss of brush border microvillous surface area, which was correlated with a significant reduction in maltase and sucrase activities and a decrease in jejunal IL-6 concentration. In both athymic control and infected mice, jejunal brush border surface area and disaccharidases were high, but levels of tissue IL-6 were low and comparable to the concentration measured in immunocompetent infected animals. In both immunocompetent and nude mice, infection caused a small but significant increase in the numbers of IELs. These findings suggest that the enterocyte brush border injury and malfunction seen in giardiasis is, at least in part, mediated by thymus-derived T lymphocytes and that suppressed jejunal IL-6 does not necessarily accompany microvillous shortening.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

The identification of early risk factors for severe emotional disturbances and emotional handicaps: an epidemiological approach.

Epidemiological methodology is used to examine the relationship between early childhood risk factors and future identification as having a Severe Emotional Disturbance or as having an Emotional Handicap (SED/EH) at age 13. Data were obtained from 1979/1980 Florida birth records that were electronically linked with 1992/1993 Florida school records. An epidemiological perspective was chosen due to its ability to model both individual and community-level risk. In regards to increasing an individual's risk of SED/EH, two factors, gender (being male) and low maternal education (mother not completing high school at the time of the child's birth), were found to have particularly strong effects. When examining effects of these risk factors upon overall rates of SED/EH in the community, maternal education and marital status (being unmarried at the time of the child's birth) were associated with a large proportion of the cases. Health/biological markers were moderately associated with SED/EH on the individual level, but were related to a relatively small percentage of cases in the population. In addition, effects varied based upon ethnic/cultural heritage. Researchers are encouraged to consider using an epidemiological perspective and its potential utility in the field of community psychology and public policy is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Early childhood anemia and mild or moderate mental retardation.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies questioned the link between early childhood anemia and detrimental child development. OBJECTIVE: A population-based study was conducted to examine the association between early childhood anemia and mild or moderate metal retardation at 10 y of age. DESIGN: The present study linked early childhood nutrition data collected by the Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and school records. Hemoglobin values were used to determine the relation between anemia in early life and children's placement in special education classes for mild or moderate mental retardation. Subjects were all participants in the WIC program. A computer program was used to link data from birth, WIC, and school records. RESULTS: Logistic regression showed an increased likelihood of mild or moderate mental retardation associated with anemia, independent of birth weight, maternal education, sex, race-ethnicity, the mother's age, or the child's age at entry into the WIC program. CONCLUSION: These findings support the proposition that efforts to prevent mild and moderate mental retardation should include providing children with adequate nutrition during early childhood.

Anemia, Iron-Deficiency↗
PubMed1998

Influence of birth weight on educational outcomes at age 9: the Miami site of the Infant Health and Development Program.

The Miami site of the Infant Health and Development Program, an early intervention for infants born low birth weight (LBW) and preterm, was investigated. Analyses unique to this sample were required because it was the only site that selected a normal birth weight (NBW) comparison group and had the lowest sociodemographic characteristics. Epidemiological methods determined the effects of LBW and early intervention on school outcomes. Children born LBW who did not receive intervention had an increased risk of scoring below the 10th percentile on achievement tests and were placed in special education three times more often than their peers born NBW. The school outcomes of children born LBW who received intervention were consistently better than those who did not, but were worse than children born NBW; however, differences did not reach statistical significance. Children born LBW who did not receive intervention are at significant risk for poor school outcomes compared with their peers born NBW.

Child↗
PubMed1985

New cephalosporins cefotaxime, cefpimizole, BMY 28142, and HR 810 in experimental pneumococcal meningitis in rabbits.

Four new cephalosporins, cefotaxime, cefpimizole (U 63196E), BMY 28142, and HR 810 were evaluated in experimental pneumococcal meningitis. Cefotaxime penetrated only moderately into the cerebrospinal fluid of rabbits with meningitis, whereas cefpimizole, BMY 28142, and HR 810 all exhibited unusually good penetration. The bactericidal activity in infected cerebrospinal fluid was comparable for the four drugs.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Activities of pefloxacin and ciprofloxacin in experimentally induced Pseudomonas pneumonia in neutropenic guinea pigs.

Pefloxacin and ciprofloxacin are two new quinoline carboxylic acid derivatives that have activity in vitro against a wide range of gram-negative bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Using a well-standardized model of Pseudomonas pneumonia in neutropenic guinea pigs, we tested the efficacy in vivo of these new agents. Both were highly effective in increasing survival and decreasing bacterial counts in the lungs of surviving animals. Pefloxacin and ciprofloxacin were significantly better (P less than 0.05) than aminoglycosides or beta-lactams tested in prior studies with this model, and they were as effective as combination therapy with aminoglycosides and beta-lactams. Resistance to either ciprofloxacin or pefloxacin did not emerge during the study period. Further studies with these drugs in the therapy of Pseudomonas sp. infections are warranted.

Agranulocytosis↗
PubMed1985

Pefloxacin therapy for experimental endocarditis caused by methicillin-susceptible or methicillin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus.

The therapeutic efficacy of pefloxacin in experimental endocarditis caused by methicillin-susceptible or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was evaluated. In rabbits infected with a methicillin-susceptible strain, 4 days of pefloxacin therapy significantly reduced both the number of bacteria per gram of vegetation and the mortality rate compared with untreated controls, and pefloxacin was equivalent to cephalothin. Pefloxacin was also as effective as vancomycin in reducing vegetation titers and mortality rate in animals with endocarditis caused by a methicillin-resistant strain. These results suggest that pefloxacin may be an effective agent in the therapy of serious infections caused by either methicillin-susceptible or -resistant strains of S. aureus.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Learning theory, intelligence, and mental development.

The current state of experimental research on mental retardation was considered from a historical perspective. The early position that defined intelligence as the ability to learn was presented. Subsequent refinements were traced as intelligence was related first to stages and, subsequently, to subprocesses of learning. Research on learning in retarded persons, which mainly dates from the late 1950s, took little account of this history. The methodological errors that flawed much modern mental retardation research were made explicit. Attempts to isolate the roles of MA and of intelligence were reviewed. It was shown that with growing understanding sophisticated designs emerged. Kappauf's three-dimensional model relating performance to IQ and CA was discussed and some models of retardation presented. Research on the development of intelligence was related to these models and to the design of intervention strategies.

Child↗