An informational brochure given to participants before their child's fluoroscopic procedure improved their knowledge of the examination and radiation exposure. No participants refused their child's examination.

Background:Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by the presence of anti-nuclear antibodies (ANAs) in the serum of patients. These antibodies may cross over into the brain resulting in the development of neuropsychiatric symptoms and result in abnormal pathology in other organs such as the heart and kidneys.Objective:The objective of this study was to determine if SLE pathology could be detected in the hearts and brains of rats injected with positive human ANA serum.Materials and Methods:Lewis rats (n = 31) were selected for this study due to documented research already performed with this strain in the investigation of serum sickness, encephalitis and autoimmune related carditis. Rats were injected once a week with either ANA positive or negative control serum or saline. Hearts were examined for initial signs of heart disease including the presence of lipid deposits, vegetation, increased ventricular thickness and a change in heart weight. Brains were examined for the presence of human antibody and necrotic lesions. Animals were observed for outward signs of neuropathy as well. Blood samples were taken in order to determine final circulating concentrations of IgG and monitor histamine levels.Results:Animals injected with ANA were significantly higher for lipid deposits in the heart and an increased ventricular thickness was noted. One animal even displayed Libman-Sacks endocarditis. Brains were positive for the presence of human IgG and diffuse internal lesions occurred in 80% of the ANA positive serum injected animals examined. Blood histamine levels were not significantly different, but actually lower than controls by the end of the experiment.Conclusion:Since human antibodies were detected in the brain, further studies will have to identify which antibody cross reactions are occurring within the brain, examine cell infiltration as well as characterize the antibodies associated with more destructive consequences such as lesion formation.

Antibiotic resistance has become one of the greatest challenges in treating bacterial infections in healthcare. Inspired by the structures of bacteriainvading viruses and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), we hypothesize that in addition to a balance of amphiphilicity and electropositivity, nanostructure is another important structural determinant that defines how membraneactive antibiotics remodel host membranes to gain desirable activity and selectivity. Here we study the structure-activity relationship of a series of polymer molecular brushes (PMBs) with well-defined nanostructures that mimic spherical and rod-shaped viruses. Our preliminary data based on PMBs with hydrophilic polymer brushes reveal that: (1) amphiphilicity is not a required trait-hydrophilic PMBs can be designed to have potent antibiotic performance as well with negligible hemolytic activity; (2) the nanoscale architecture of PMBs defines their double selectivity, not molecular weight per se; (3) PMBs are far more powerful antibiotics than individual linear-chain polymers that make up the PMBs; and (4) nanostructured PMBs induce topological changes of membranes by forming membrane pores that unlikely fit in with any known models of AMP action. These findings expand existing wisdom on designing synthetic mimics of AMPs and suggest that the spatially-defined, multivalent interactions inherent to nanostructured PMBs is of great significance for the development of new membrane-active antibiotics.