Biomedical subjects

Steve Graham

Publications and source records attributed to Steve Graham.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Utilization of pay-in antenatal leave among working women in Southern California.

OBJECTIVES: Examine antenatal leave arrangements among pregnant workers in California, and the occupational, demographic and well-being characteristics associated with leave taking. Unlike most states, California provides paid pregnancy leave up to 4 weeks antenatally and 6-8 weeks postnatally. METHODS: Weighted data from postpartum telephone interviews conducted between July 2002 and November 2003 were analyzed for 1214 women participating in a case-control study of birth outcomes in Southern California. Eligible women worked at least 20 h/week during the first two trimesters of pregnancy or through the date of prenatal screening. The overall response rate was 73%. RESULTS: Fifty-two percent of women took no leave, 32% took antenatal leave expecting to return to their job or employer sometime after giving birth, and 9% quit their jobs during pregnancy. For leave-takers with paid leave (69%), the state was the main source of pay (74%). Medical problems (52%) rather than maternity leave benefits (25%) were the most common stated reasons for taking leave. The strongest predictors of leave taking versus working through pregnancy were feeling stressed and tired (adjusted OR = 4.3, 95% CI [2.2-8.2]) and having young children (adjusted OR = 2.1, 95% CI [1.2-3.7]), followed by occupational factors (night shift, unfulfilling and inflexible work, short work tenure). Lack of employer-offered maternity leave benefits was associated with increased quitting relative to both leave taking and working through pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Maternity benefits influence quitting, but alone do not determine antenatal leave taking. Working pregnant women in California utilize leave cautiously and predominantly to cope with health problems, work dissatisfaction and fatigue.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

The newborn screening educational gap: what prenatal care providers do compared with what is expected.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this evaluation was to examine prenatal care providers' knowledge of, attitudes towards, and barriers for providing information about newborn screening and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) screening. STUDY DESIGN: We mailed a 12-question survey to 6197 prenatal care providers in California asking about their experiences with newborn and prenatal screening services. RESULTS: Although 4/5 of respondents believe newborn screening is very important for their patients, only 1/3 discuss it with all their patients. Over half believe either pediatricians (38%) or hospital staff (36%) will discuss newborn screening. Only 61% of providers give their patients the newborn screening educational booklet, even though California law requires that the booklet be provided to all pregnant women. CONCLUSION: Pregnant women and state professionals rely on prenatal care providers to educate pregnant women about newborn screening; however, many providers do not appear to view it as part of their responsibility. Therefore, the state needs to improve communication with both providers and the public about newborn screening.

Female↗

PubMed2006

Comprehensive genetic analysis of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator from dried blood specimens--implications for newborn screening.

PURPOSE: In the United States, approximately 1/3,700 babies is born with cystic fibrosis each year. The >1,300 documented sequence variants pose a challenge for detection of cystic fibrosis through genetic screening. To investigate whether comprehensive characterization of the cystic fibrosis gene is feasible using dried newborn blood specimens, we modified the whole blood Ambry Test: CF and determined its sensitivity by testing DNA from individuals with cystic fibrosis who still had unknown mutations after commercial mutation panel testing. METHODS: DNA from 42 archived newborn dried blood specimens of affected Hispanic, African-American and Caucasian individuals in California was analyzed by temporal temperature gradient electrophoresis screening and targeted sequencing, and by gross deletion analysis. RESULTS: Excluding two specimens that could not be analyzed due to poor DNA quality, we report a 100% sensitivity and clinical detection rate in the remaining 40 patients. Eighty-three mutations representing 40 different variants were detected, including 8 novel mutations. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the feasibility of temporal temperature gradient electrophoresis-based full sequence analysis and targeted sequencing from DNA in newborn blood specimens. The Ambry Test: CF, as an additional step in cystic fibrosis newborn screening models, can be used to dramatically reduce the number of cystic fibrosis carrier sweat test referrals.

Blood Specimen Collection↗

PubMed2006

Dimensions of good and poor handwriting legibility in first and second graders: motor programs, visual-spatial arrangement, and letter formation parameter setting.

First and second graders who were good and poor handwriters completed three writing tasks: writing letters of alphabet in order from memory, letter copying in a passage, and composing on provided topics. A coding scheme was used to evaluate these dimensions of legibility: spacing between words and between letters within words, alignment (letter placement on lines), letter height, letter slant, reversals, added strokes, missing strokes, and missing letters. Although results were somewhat task dependent, most differences between good and poor handwriters involved poor handwriters generating more letters with added strokes, producing smaller letters, and exhibiting more variability in spacing and alignment. The good and poor handwriters did not differ on average performance in alignment of words on the baseline or in spacing of letters within words and spacing between words. Each of three dimensions of handwriting contributed uniquely to the handwriting of first and second graders: motor programs, visual-spatial arrangement on the written page, and letter formation parameter setting.

Chi-Square Distribution↗

PubMed2006

The state of educational intervention research as viewed through the lens of literacy intervention.

The characteristics of educational intervention research are reviewed: Educational intervention research is inspired by diverse theories, targeted at a variety of simple to very complex interventions, and includes a variety of methods and measurements. Some interventions have been studied much more than others, with the more studied ones often summarized in meta-analyses and other integrative reviews. The study of some of the more complex interventions pose new ethical challenges. Although some intervention research impacts educational practice and policy, much more could and probably should.

Educational Status↗

PubMed2004

Identification of novel and rare mutations in California Hispanic and African American cystic fibrosis patients.

In ethnic heterogeneous California, complete genetic information is currently lacking to build solid population-based cystic fibrosis (CF) screening programs because a large proportion of mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene (CFTR/ABCC7) are still unknown, especially in non-Caucasian patients. A total of 402 [46 African American+356 Hispanic] Hispanic and African American patients from California CF patient registry were included in this study. Patients with at least one unidentified mutant allele were asked to donate blood samples for further analysis, first by Genzyme Genetics for a panel of 87 known mutations, followed by temporal temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TTGE) scanning of the entire coding exons of CFTR gene. A total of eight novel mutations; one missense mutation, one splice-site mutation and six frame-shift mutations were identified. In addition to the eight novel mutations, 20 [corrected] distinct rare mutations that are not in the current available commercial mutation panels were identified by TTGE. The overall detection rate was raised to 95.7% for African American and 94.5% for Hispanic. The discovery of recurrent rare and novel mutations improves the diagnosis and care of persons with CF and improves our ability to adequately and equitably provide screening and genetic counseling services to non-Caucasians.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Environmental tobacco smoke and pregnancy outcome.

BACKGROUND: Recent reviews conclude that environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) leads to diminished birth weight. However, the threshold and magnitude of that effect is uncertain. We aimed to determine the magnitude and shape of the relations between ETS and various adverse pregnancy outcomes using a highly sensitive biochemical assay. METHODS: Maternal serum specimens were collected from more than 3000 women enrolled in California's prenatal screening program in 1992 and analyzed for cotinine. Information on pregnancy outcomes was obtained from live birth/fetal death records and hospital questionnaires. We conducted analyses on 2777 woman-live birth pairs and 19 woman-fetal death pairs in which the mother was presumed to be a nonsmoker (midtrimester cotinine levels < or =10 ng/mL). RESULTS: In multiple logistic regression analyses, the odds ratios of fetal death, preterm delivery, and term-low birth weight were 3.4, 1.8, and 1.8, respectively, in the highest cotinine quintile (0.236-10 ng/mL), compared with the lowest quintile (<0.026 ng/mL). In adjusted linear models, there was a linear dose-dependent effect of log cotinine on mean birth weight (-109 g) and mean infant length (-0.84 cm) over the range of cotinine values. Linear relations were not found with respect to infant head circumference or the ratio of brain weight to body weight. Infant's body mass index declined with exposures above approximately 0.5 ng/mL cotinine. We estimated that ETS levels at or above 0.05 ng/mL (experienced by 62% of the study population) accounted for 12% of all adverse outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: ETS exposure in pregnant women adversely affects pregnancy by increasing fetal mortality and preterm delivery at higher exposure levels and slowing fetal growth across all levels of ETS exposure.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Writing and reading: connections between language by hand and language by eye.

Four approaches to the investigation of connections between language by hand and language by eye are described and illustrated with studies from a decade-long research program. In the first approach, multigroup structural equation modeling is applied to reading and writing measures given to typically developing writers to examine unidirectional and bidirectional relationships between specific components of the reading and writing systems. In the second approach, structural equation modeling is applied to a multivariate set of language measures given to children and adults with reading and writing disabilities to examine how the same set of language processes is orchestrated differently to accomplish specific reading or writing goals, and correlations between factors are evaluated to examine the level at which the language-by-hand system and the language-by-eye system communicate most easily. In the third approach, mode of instruction and mode of response are systematically varied in evaluating effectiveness of treating reading disability with and without a writing component. In the fourth approach, functional brain imaging is used to investigate residual spelling problems in students whose problems with word decoding have been remediated. The four approaches support a model in which language by hand and language by eye are separate systems that interact in predictable ways.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The effectiveness of a highly explicit, teacher-directed strategy instruction routine: changing the writing performance of students with learning disabilities.

This study examined the effectiveness of a highly explicit, teacher-directed instructional routine used to teach three planning strategies for writing to fourth and fifth graders with learning disabilities. In comparison to peers who received process writing instruction, children who were taught the three planning strategies-goal setting, brainstorming, and organizing-spent more time planning stories in advance of writing and produced stories that were qualitatively better. One month after the end of instruction, students who had been taught the strategies not only maintained their advantage in story quality but also produced longer stories than those produced by their peers who were taught process writing. However, the highly explicit, teacher-directed strategy instructional routine used in this study did not promote transfer to an uninstructed genre, persuasive essay writing. These findings are discussed in terms of their relevance to effective writing instruction practices for students with learning disabilities.

Child↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Teaching expressive writing to students with learning disabilities: research-based applications and examples.

This article presents research-based examples of effective instructional approaches for improving the quality of the content of stories and essays written by students with learning disabilities. We also describe recent research on handwriting and spelling (transcription skills) and show how instruction in these areas affects overall writing quality. Examples of instructional approaches that improve writing quality are taken from experimental studies included in a recent meta-analysis by Gersten and Baker (2001) conducted on writing intervention research. A common goal in these studies was to teach students with learning disabilities how to organize writing tasks, generate ideas about the writing topics, and produce final written products that were coherent and organized. In this article, our goal is to illustrate how findings from these studies can be implemented in both general and special education settings.

Child↗