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K Babel

Publications and source records attributed to K Babel.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Influence of ethnic origin on predictive parameters of performance in sprint running in prepubertal boys.

Afro-American and Caribbean athletes have long dominated sprint running, although the reasons for their disproportionate success remain unclear. The studies of sprinting ability in blacks versus whites have shown contradictory results. This study compared the anthropometric measurements and the physical test results (vertical jump and sprint) of Caucasian and Afro-Caribbean prepubertal boys. Seventeen healthy untrained prepubertal boys, 8 Caucasians and 9 Afro-Caribbeans (11.49 +/- 0.74 years) performed vertical jump tests (a countermovement jump according to the Sargent method, using Abalakov material) and short sprints (30 m). Age, height, weight, and fat mass percentage were also recorded. The sprints were filmed to determine the number of strides over the 30 m. No significant difference was noted for sprint performance between the Caucasians and Afro-Caribbeans (respectively, 5.59 seconds +/- 0.44 vs. 5.51 s +/- 0.50). The predictors of sprint performance differed between the two groups: the vertical jump test was the main predictor for the Caucasian group, whereas the stride number/height ratio was the main predictor for the Afro-Caribbean group. This last group had better ratio (0.14 +/- 0.15 vs. 0.16 +/- 0.02, p < 0.05) and better jump test results (36.77 cm +/- 2.90 vs. 31.12 cm +/- 4.76, p < 005). The prepubertal Afro-Caribbeans seemed to be endowed to run faster but they did not. We hypothesize that they were unable to use their greater leg strength to develop an optimal stride. Further study is needed to investigate what occurs at other maturational stages.

Acceleration↗
PubMed1997

Survival and functional outcome of children requiring endotracheal intubation during therapy for severe traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the predictors of survival and functional outcome of pediatric patients with traumatic brain injury severe enough to require endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. DESIGN: Retrospective, observational cohort study. SETTING: Pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) at a tertiary care children's hospital. PATIENTS: All children (n = 105) admitted over a 5-yr period with traumatic brain injury severe enough to require endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. The median age was 43 months (range 1 month to 14 yrs). Of these children, 74% were male and 70% were white. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Variables studied included vital signs during the first 24 hrs of admission, Pediatric Risk of Mortality (PRISM) score, Glasgow Coma Score, duration of mechanical ventilation, and number of pediatric ICU and hospital days. Functional status was graded as normal, independent, partially dependent, or dependent in the areas of locomotion, self-care, and communication. This status was assessed at hospital discharge by chart review and at follow-up by telephone interview. The median Glasgow Coma Score was 6 (range 3 to 14) and the median PRISM score was 13 (range 1 to 51). There were 19 (18.1%) deaths, 17 in the pediatric ICU and two after hospital discharge. Of the patients who survived to hospital discharge, 39 (37.1%) patients were completely normal or independent, 42 (40%) patients were partially dependent, and seven (6.7%) patients were dependent in all three areas of function. Follow-up evaluations were available for 80 patients, with a median follow-up time of 24.5 months (range 8 to 70). Of the 78 patients who survived and were available for follow-up, the number who were functionally normal or independent increased to 69 (65.7%). At follow-up, there were eight (7.6%) patients remaining with partial dependency in at least one area of function while one (0.9%) patient continued to be dependent in all three areas of function. Mortality and dependent functional outcome were more likely in patients with younger age, lower Glasgow Coma Score, and higher PRISM score at hospital admission. Of the 27 patients with a Glasgow Coma Score of < or = 5, 11 (40.7%) survived with normal or independent functional status at follow-up. Of the 24 patients with PRISM scores of > 20, only five (20.8%) were functionally normal or independent at follow-up. The relative risk of a bad outcome for patients with a Glasgow Coma Score of < or = 5 and a PRISM score of > or = 20 was ten times higher than the group of patients with a Glasgow Coma Score of < or = 5 but a PRISM score of < 20. CONCLUSIONS: Children with severe traumatic brain injury who survive to hospital discharge will continue to improve in their functional status over the next few years. Although low Glasgow Coma Score is strongly associated with death or poor functional outcome after therapy for traumatic brain injury, many patients with Glasgow Coma Score of < or = 5 can survive with good function. PRISM scores add to the power of Glasgow Coma Score to predict survival and functional outcome in tracheally intubated pediatric patients with Glasgow Coma Score of < or = 5.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1987

Bactericidal interactions of a beta-lactam and beta-lactamase inhibitors in experimental Pseudomonas aeruginosa endocarditis caused by a constitutive overproducer of type Id beta-lactamase.

We investigated the in vitro and in vivo effects of a combination of a beta-lactam (ceftazidime) and a beta-lactamase inhibitor (dicloxacillin) to synergistically kill a ceftazidime-resistant variant, Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA-48, which overproduces type Id cephalosporinase constitutively. In vitro, dicloxacillin plus ceftazidime exerted bactericidal synergy at approximately 10(5) CFU/ml of inoculum (but not at approximately 10(7)-CFU inoculum), whereas other beta-lactamase inhibitors (sulbactam, clavulanic acid) showed no enhanced killing of PA-48 when combined with ceftazidime at clinically achievable levels for each agent. Dicloxacillin was a potent competitive inhibitor of the extracted Id cephalosporinase from strain PA-48 in short-term comixture studies (less than 10 min [Ki = 2 nM]); in contrast, longer-term comixture studies (90 min) indicated that dicloxacillin functions as a competitive substrate for the enzyme. Growth of PA-48 cells in the presence of dicloxacillin (12.5 to 100 micrograms/ml) had no significant effect on the production rates or functional activity of the Id enzyme. In experimental aortic valve endocarditis due to the ceftazidime-resistant variant (PA-48), rabbits received either no therapy, ceftazidime (25 mg/kg intramuscularly, every 4 h), or ceftazidime plus dicloxacillin (200 mg/kg intramuscularly, every 4 h). The combination regimen reduced mean bacterial densities of PA-48 within cardiac vegetations significantly below those in the other groups at both days 3 and 6 of treatment (P less than 0.005). However, mean vegetation bacterial densities remained greater than 6 log10 CFU/g in the combined treatment group. This modest in vivo synergistic effect (as compared to striking in vitro synergy at approximately 10(5)-CFU inoculum) most likely reflects the high densities of PA-48 achieved in vivo within cardiac vegetations (greater than 8 log10 CFU/g).

Animals↗