This study examines the hypothesis that infant-driven oral feeding leads to earlier achievement of oral feeding and reduces the length of hospital stay compared with provider-driven oral feeding in premature infants METHODS We used a retrospective chart review to compare 2 groups of premature infants born at ≤35 weeks of gestation. The control group (CG) received the Provider-Driven Oral Feeding model and the intervention group (IG) received the Infant-Driven Oral Feeding model. Postmenstrual age (PMA) upon achieving full oral feeding, PMA at first oral feeding, discharge weight, and length of hospital stay were compared between the groups.

There are 208 infants in CG and 170 infants in IG. Infants in IG were born, on average, at a lower gestational age and birth weight than infants in CG. The median PMA at full oral feeding of 35 2/7 weeks (interquartile range [IQR], 34 2/7-36 2/7) for IG is significantly lower than the median of 35 5/7 weeks (IQR, 35-36 5/7) for CG, P-value < 0.001. Median PMA at first oral feeding is 34 1/7 weeks for both groups. Shikonin Median PMA at discharge was 36 6/7 weeks for both groups. Median discharge weights of 2509 g (IQR, 2175-2964) for IG and 2459 g (IQR, 2204-2762) for CG are not statistically different.

Implementation of the Infant-Driven Feeding guideline led to earlier achievement of full oral feeding by 3 days on average while maintaining the same discharge weight but did not lead to earlier hospital discharge.

Implementation of the Infant-Driven Feeding guideline led to earlier achievement of full oral feeding by 3 days on average while maintaining the same discharge weight but did not lead to earlier hospital discharge.

Self-report measures of periodontal disease have utility for screening, but have not capitalized on a latent variable approach based on psychometric theory to validate such measures. This study aimed to develop a psychometrically valid self-report measure of periodontal disease using latent variable factor analysis and other evidence-based psychometric analyses.

Likert-type items reflecting periodontal disease were administered to a sample of adults (n=828) in the United States via an online survey. Items were adapted from prior self-report measures or were newly developed based on psychometric item development theory and theoretical knowledge of periodontal disease. Psychometric analyses included exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, parallel analysis, and a calculation of internal consistency.

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was indicative of the goodness-of-fit with two factors (root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA)=0.08; comparative fit index (CFI)=0.97; Tucker Lewis index (TLI)=eriodontal disease measures may facilitate useful and cost-effective estimates of periodontal disease and provide a testable scale. Future work should include clinical validation.Most cancers become more dangerous by the outgrowth of malignant subclones with additional DNA mutations that favor proliferation or survival. Using chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a disease exemplary of this process, and a model for neoplasms in general, we created transgenic mice overexpressing the enzyme, activation-induced deaminase (AID), whose normal function is to induce DNA mutations in B lymphocytes. AID allows normal B lymphocytes to develop more effective immunoglobulin (Ig)-mediated immunity, but also is able to mutate non-Ig genes, predisposing to cancer. In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), AID expression correlates with poor prognosis suggesting a role for this enzyme in disease progression. Nevertheless, direct experimental evidence identifying the specific genes that are mutated by AID and indicating that those genes are associated with disease progression is not available. To address this point, we overexpressed Aicda in a murine model of CLL (Em-TCL1). Analyses of TCL1/AID mice demonstrate a role for AID in disease kinetics, CLL-cell proliferation, and the development of cancer-related target mutations with canonical AID signatures in non-Igs genes. Notably, our mouse models can accumulate mutations in the same genes that are mutated in human cancers. Moreover, some of these mutations occur at homologous positions, leading to identical or chemically-similar amino acid substitutions as in human CLL and lymphoma.Together, these findings support a direct link between aberrant AID activity and CLL driver mutations that are then selected for their oncogenic effects, whereby AID promotes aggressiveness in CLL and other B-cell neoplasms.Individuals with a comorbid diagnosis of Down syndrome (DS) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been found to exhibit greater deficits in expressive communication than individuals with DS only. We hypothesized that individuals with a comorbid diagnosis (n = 430) would have significantly lower Communication Matrix scores and specifically social communication scores than individuals with DS alone (n = 4,352). In a sample of 4,782 individuals with DS, scores for individuals with a comorbid diagnosis were on average 18.01 points and 7.26 points lower for total score and social score respectively as compared to individuals with DS. Comorbid diagnosis accounted for 10.5% of the variance in communication scores. Between-group differences in referential gestures and symbolic communication behaviors were also observed.This systematic review evaluates single-case research design studies investigating applied behavior analytic (ABA) interventions for people with Down syndrome (DS). One hundred twenty-five studies examining the efficacy of ABA interventions on increasing skills and/or decreasing challenging behaviors met inclusion criteria. The What Works Clearinghouse standards and Risk of Bias in N-of-1 Trials scale were used to analyze methodological characteristics, and Tau-U effect sizes were calculated. Results suggest the use of ABA-based interventions are promising for behavior change in people with DS. Thirty-six high-quality studies were identified and demonstrated a medium overall effect. A range of outcomes was targeted, primarily involving communication and challenging behavior. These outcomes will guide future research on ABA interventions and DS.