The variability of urinary cotinine levels in young children: implications for measuring ETS exposure.

This study examined the within-subject variability of urinary cotinine levels in young children (aged = 0.6-7.2 years) of smoking parents to determine the number of urine samples needed to provide accurate estimates of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) for different time intervals. Secondary analyses were conducted of five independent studies (N = 376), in which multiple urinary cotinine measures had been collected over time periods up to 13 months. Over measurement periods of 4-15 days, the within-subject cotinine levels varied 3-5 times more than would be expected based on measurement error alone. Over 7-13 months, the within-subject variability was 10-20 times higher than would be expected based on the measurement error. Findings indicated that cotinine measures from single urine samples provided highly accurate estimates of only recent exposure (i.e., 2-3 days; rho = 0.99). To achieve similarly precise estimates of the mean cotinine level of an individual child over 4-15 days, up to nine urine samples may be necessary. Up to 12 urine samples may be required to achieve similarly precise estimates of ETS exposure over a 4- to 13-month period. Epidemiologic and clinical research on ETS exposure in children can benefit from multiple urine samples (a) to accurately measure average exposure at the level of the individual child, (b) to describe temporal patterns, (c) to detect incidences of peak exposure that would remain underrecognized if monitoring is limited to a single time point, and (d) to establish stable baseline levels and endpoints based on urine samples collected over clinically relevant time periods.     

Play therapy for children with fetal alcohol syndrome.

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is the leading birth defect in the United States, yet few treatment options exist for children afflicted with this disorder. Although play therapy has demonstrated its efficacy with numerous special populations, as of today, no research has been conducted on its use with FAS. This article presents an overview of current data on FAS, an argument for the use of child-centered play therapy for children diagnosed FAS, and suggests areas of research needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A methodology for evaluating computer integrated manufacturing technologies

The decision to invest in advanced manufacturing technology is often made at the strategic level. The technique to be used to justify these decisions should have the ability to incorporate the non-quantifiable, intangible benefits associated with implementing these technologies. Among the methods introduced recently, the linear additive models have received considerable attention. This paper reviews a linear additive method which can be used to evaluate long-term and short-term automation manufacturing investment alternatives. The paper also concentrates on those cases in which some common characteristics of available alternatives are assumed to be independent.