A simple and reproducible testing method for dialkyl phthalate migration from polyvinyl chloride products into saliva simulant.
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We describe a method of mechanical agitation to determine rates of dialkyl phthalate migration from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products into saliva simulant. The method consists of rotary shaking of a sample with 30 mL of saliva simulant (pH 7.0) at 35 degrees C in a 50 mL glass tube at 300 rpm for 15 min, then measuring the amount of dialkyl phthalate in the saliva simulant by HPLC with a UV detector. The migration rates of diisononyl phthalate (DINP), di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) from PVC plates containing about 45% (w/w) plasticizer (molded in our laboratory) were identical. However, the migration rates from molded plates containing 13% (w/w) DBP were almost double those of DINP and DEHP at the same ratios. In addition, the amounts of DINP that migrated in vitro after rotary shaking for 15 min were equivalent to those in vivo determined in saliva from volunteers who chewed plates for 60 min. The migration rates of dialkyl phthalates from 11 commercially available toys ranged from 15.6 to 85.2 micrograms/cm2/h [relative standard deviation (RSD), 3 to 12%]. (+info)
Leisure activities and the risk of dementia in the elderly.
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BACKGROUND: Participation in leisure activities has been associated with a lower risk of dementia. It is unclear whether increased participation in leisure activities lowers the risk of dementia or participation in leisure activities declines during the preclinical phase of dementia. METHODS: We examined the relation between leisure activities and the risk of dementia in a prospective cohort of 469 subjects older than 75 years of age who resided in the community and did not have dementia at base line. We examined the frequency of participation in leisure activities at enrollment and derived cognitive-activity and physical-activity scales in which the units of measure were activity-days per week. Cox proportional-hazards analysis was used to evaluate the risk of dementia according to the base-line level of participation in leisure activities, with adjustment for age, sex, educational level, presence or absence of chronic medical illnesses, and base-line cognitive status. RESULTS: Over a median follow-up period of 5.1 years, dementia developed in 124 subjects (Alzheimer's disease in 61 subjects, vascular dementia in 30, mixed dementia in 25, and other types of dementia in 8). Among leisure activities, reading, playing board games, playing musical instruments, and dancing were associated with a reduced risk of dementia. A one-point increment in the cognitive-activity score was significantly associated with a reduced risk of dementia (hazard ratio, 0.93 [95 percent confidence interval, 0.90 to 0.97]), but a one-point increment in the physical-activity score was not (hazard ratio, 1.00). The association with the cognitive-activity score persisted after the exclusion of the subjects with possible preclinical dementia at base line. Results were similar for Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. In linear mixed models, increased participation in cognitive activities at base line was associated with reduced rates of decline in memory. CONCLUSIONS: Participation in leisure activities is associated with a reduced risk of dementia, even after adjustment for base-line cognitive status and after the exclusion of subjects with possible preclinical dementia. Controlled trials are needed to assess the protective effect of cognitive leisure activities on the risk of dementia. (+info)
Funhaler spacer: improving adherence without compromising delivery.
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A novel asthma spacer device, the "Funhaler", incorporates incentive toys which are isolated from the main inspiratory circuit by a valve. Here we show that its use does not compromise drug delivery. Improved adherence combined with satisfactory delivery characteristics suggest that the Funhaler may be useful for management of young asthmatics. (+info)
'Still-face' interactions between mothers with borderline personality disorder and their 2-month-old infants.
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BACKGROUND: There is evidence that psychopathology in mothers may be associated with dysfunctional mother-infant interactions. AIMS: To investigate mother-infant relations when mothers have borderline personality disorder. METHOD: Eight mothers with borderline personality disorder and twelve mothers without psychiatric disorder were videotaped interacting with their 2-month-old infants in three successive phases of interaction: face-to-face play; an episode when the mother adopted a 'still face' and was unreactive; and a period when play interactions were resumed. The videotapes were rated by judges blind to the diagnostic group of the mother. RESULTS: The mothers with borderline personality disorder were more intrusively insensitive towards their infants. During the still-face period, their infants showed increased looking away and dazed looks. Following this, mother-infant interactions were less satisfying and their infants showed dazed looks and lowering of affect. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis of borderline personality disorder is associated with a particular pattern of mother-infant interaction. The infants' responses to the still-face challenge might suggest dysfunctional self-regulation, but the developmental significance remains to be assessed. (+info)
Injury and frequency of use of playground equipment in public schools and parks in Brisbane, Australia.
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OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of use of play equipment in public schools and parks in Brisbane, Australia, and to estimate an annual rate of injury per use of equipment, overall and for particular types of equipment. METHODS: Injury data on all children injured from playground equipment and seeking medical attention at the emergency department of either of the two children's hospitals in the City of Brisbane were obtained for the years 1996 and 1997. Children were observed at play on five different pieces of play equipment in a random sample of 16 parks and 16 schools in the City of Brisbane. Children injured in the 16 parks and schools were counted, and rates of injury and use were calculated. RESULTS: The ranked order for equipment use in the 16 schools was climbing equipment (3762 uses), horizontal ladders (2309 uses), and slides (856 uses). Each horizontal ladder was used 2.6 times more often than each piece of climbing equipment. Each horizontal ladder was used 7.8 times more than each piece of climbing equipment in the sample of public parks. Slides were used 4.6 times more than climbing equipment in parks and 1.2 times more in public schools. The annual injury rate for the 16 schools and 16 parks under observation was 0.59/100 000 and 0.26/100 000 uses of equipment, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that annual number of injuries per standardized number of uses could be used to determine the relative risk of particular pieces of playground equipment. The low overall rate of injuries/100 000 uses of equipment in this study suggests that the benefit of further reduction of injury in this community may be marginal and outweigh the economic costs in addition to reducing challenging play opportunities. (+info)
Evaluation of North Carolina child care safety regulations.
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INTRODUCTION: The goal of this study was to track any changes in injuries and injury hazards during the first 3.5 years of implementation of the North Carolina Child Care Commission's 1996 playground safety regulations. METHODS: All reports (n=5402) of medically attended injuries in regulated child care settings in North Carolina during the period 1 January 1997 through 30 June 2000 were reviewed and analyzed. A total of 294 playground safety inspections were conducted in November and December 1998 in randomly selected North Carolina child care centers, and the playground safety inspections were repeated in 76 child care centers in August 2000. Finally, in 1999 a 1992 child care center director self assessment of safety features in classrooms was sent to the directors of 291 of the 294 centers. RESULTS: The annual rate of reported, medically attended injuries occurring in regulated child care facilities in North Carolina declined by 22% from 1997 to 1999. The playground safety inspections in the year 2000 revealed that, for nine of 10 playground concerns and 12 of 18 playground safety hazards, average ratings were equal to or better than those of 1998. Finally, the director surveys revealed no dramatic changes in classroom safety hazards since 1992. DISCUSSION: This study represents the first time that the authors are aware of that a significant decline in state-wide child care injury rates has been associated with improved regulation of playground safety in the US. (+info)
Development of a multidisciplinary method to determine risk factors for arm fracture in falls from playground equipment.
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OBJECTIVES: To present the development of a novel multidisciplinary method to investigate physical risk factors for playground related arm fracture. RATIONALE: Previous playground injury research has been limited in its ability to determine risk factors for arm fractures, despite their common and costly occurrence. Biomechanical studies have focused exclusively on head injury. Few epidemiological studies have quantified surface impact attenuation and none have investigated specific injury outcomes such as arm fracture. DESIGN: An unmatched case-control study design was developed. An instrumented child dummy and rig were designed to simulate real playground falls in situ. Validated output from the dummy was used to quantify arm load. Other field measurements included equipment height, fall height, surface depth, headform deceleration, and head injury criterion. DISCUSSION: Validated methods of biomechanics and epidemiology were combined in a robust design. The principle strength of this method was the use of a multidisciplinary approach to identify and quantify risk and protective factors for arm fracture in falls from playground equipment. Application of this method will enable countermeasures for prevention of playground related arm fracture to be developed. (+info)
Promoting interaction during sociodramatic play: teaching scripts to typical preschoolers and classmates with disabilities.
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We investigated the effects of teaching sociodramatic scripts on subsequent interaction among three triads, each containing 2 typical children and 1 child with autistic characteristics. The same type and rate of teacher prompts were implemented throughout structured play observations to avoid the confounding effects of script training and teacher prompting. After learning the scripts, all children demonstrated more frequent theme-related social behavior. These improvements in social-communicative interaction were replicated with the training of three sociodramatic scripts (i.e., pet shop, carnival, magic show) according to a multiple baseline design. These effects were maintained during the training of successive scripts and when the triads were reconstituted to include new but similarly trained partners. Results provided support for the inclusion of systematic training of scripts to enhance interaction among children with and without disabilities during sociodramatic play. (+info)