Peer and parental influences on male adolescent drinking

Using data from males aged 16-19 in Buffalo, NY, the present study examines two social mechanisms by which parents and peers influence adolescent drinking--behavioral and attitudinal transmission--and compares the patterns of behavioral and attitudinal transmission for parents and for peers. The study also assesses the relative importance of parents and peers in accounting for adolescent alcohol behavior. The findings indicate that both alcohol behavior and attitudes of parents and peers are significant predictors of adolescent drinking. However, the prediction patterns are reversed. Parental attitudes are more important than parental alcohol behavior, while peer alcohol behavior is more important than peer attitudes. Overall, peers have more influence on adolescent drinking than parents. There is a significant interaction of parental alcohol-related attitudes and age, which indicates that parental alcohol-related attitudes exert a greater effect on younger (i.e., age 16-17) males' alcohol use.     

Impact of multiple antenatal doses of betamethasone on growth and development of mice offspring

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to determine in a randomized, placebo-controlled manner whether multiple antenatal doses of betamethasone affect long-term growth and development of exposed mouse offspring. STUDY DESIGN: Sixty pregnant CD-1 mice received either two, four, or eight antepartum doses of 0.1 mg betamethasone or placebo. Perinatal outcomes, growth, and development of the offspring were compared in a blinded manner. Variables were compared by analysis of variance or chi 2 testing. RESULTS: Betamethasone-exposed subjects gained less weight during pregnancy and were delivered of fewer live pups, with fewer male survivors and lower birth weights. These trends were dose related. Growth measurements were similar after the neonatal period. No differences in functional development and physical maturation in the offspring were noted. The reproductive capability, perinatal outcomes, and growth and development of the second-generation offspring were unaffected by betamethasone exposure. CONCLUSION: Multiple antenatal dosings of betamethasone, reaching toxic levels, did not have an impact on the long-term growth and development of the surviving mouse offspring.     

Structure, subunit topology, and actin-binding activity of the Arp2/3 complex from Acanthamoeba

The Arp2/3 complex, first isolated from Acanthamoeba castellani by affinity chromatography on profilin, consists of seven polypeptides; two actin-related proteins, Arp2 and Arp3; and five apparently novel proteins, p40, p35, p19, p18, and p14 (Machesky et al., 1994). The complex is homogeneous by hydrodynamic criteria with a Stokes' radius of 5.3 nm by gel filtration, sedimentation coefficient of 8.7 S, and molecular mass of 197 kD by analytical ultracentrifugation. The stoichiometry of the subunits is 1:1:1:1:1:1:1, indicating the purified complex contains one copy each of seven polypeptides. In electron micrographs, the complex has a bilobed or horseshoe shape with outer dimensions of approximately 13 x 10 nm, and mathematical models of such a shape and size are consistent with the measured hydrodynamic properties. Chemical cross-linking with a battery of cross-linkers of different spacer arm lengths and chemical reactivities identify the following nearest neighbors within the complex: Arp2 and p40; Arp2 and p35; Arp3 and p35; Arp3 and either p18 or p19; and p19 and p14. By fluorescent antibody staining with anti-p40 and -p35, the complex is concentrated in the cortex of the ameba, especially in linear structures, possibly actin filament bundles, that lie perpendicular to the leading edge. Purified Arp2/3 complex binds actin filaments with a Kd of 2.3 microM and a stoichiometry of approximately one complex molecule per actin monomer. In electron micrographs of negatively stained samples, Arp2/3 complex decorates the sides of actin filaments. EDC/NHS cross-links actin to Arp3, p35, and a low molecular weight subunit, p19, p18, or p14. We propose structural and topological models for the Arp2/3 complex and suggest that affinity for actin filaments accounts for the localization of complex subunits to actin-rich regions of Acanthamoeba.     

Tilidine does not affect human sphincter of Oddi motility--a randomized, controlled study

AIM: To investigate the effects of intravenous pentazocine and tilidine on sphincter of Oddi motility. METHODS: Twenty patients with suspected sphincter of Oddi dysfunction were enrolled in a prospective, double-blind study. Sphincter of Oddi motility was assessed by means of endoscopic manometry after injection of 0.9% saline, as well as after randomized dosing with either 30 mg pentazocine i.v. (n = 10) or 50 mg tilidine i.v. (n = 10). RESULTS: Pentazocine significantly increased the sphincter of Oddi baseline pressure from 32 +/- 21 mmHg (saline) to 41 +/- 19 mmHg (P = 0.002), whereas tilidine did not alter the sphincter baseline pressure (34 +/- 15 mmHg saline vs. 36 +/- 16 mmHg tilidine, P = 0.16). Furthermore, pentazocine increased the phasic sphincter contraction amplitude (108 +/- 16 mmHg saline vs. 121 +/- 18 mmHg pentazocine, P = 0.004), but tilidine was without any effect (125 +/- 24 mmHg saline vs. 125 +/- 21 mmHg tilidine, P = 0.93). The phasic sphincter of Oddi contraction frequency and duration were not influenced either by pentazocine or by tilidine. CONCLUSION: In contrast to 30 mg of pentazocine, 50 mg of tilidine does not affect sphincter of Oddi motility. Therefore, tilidine can be used during endoscopic manometry and for analgesia in pancreatobiliary disease.     

Post-hoc Rasch analysis of optimal categorization of an ordered-response scale

The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal categorization of a self-efficacy ordered-response scale using the Rasch analysis and compare the performance of the Rasch statistics and parameter estimates with conventional statistics. A 50-item scale to measure psychomotor self-efficacy was administered to a total of 2,022 children, including 1,009 boys and 1,013 girls. The data analysis started by collapsing the original five adjacent categories into two, three, and four categories, and a total of 14 data sets were derived. Each of these data sets, including the original one, was analyzed using the Rasch rating scale model, and a set of Rasch model-data fit, category, and separation statistics and parameter estimates, as well as three conventional statistics, were computed and compared. It was found that, instead of the five-category construct designed, the best order of category meanings of the scale in respondents' perceptions was a three-category construct. The Rasch threshold estimates were sensitive indexes in determining the order of the categorization, and that item separation statistics were useful in determining the optimal categorization after its order was confirmed. The commonly used coefficient alpha was found not helpful at all in determining the optimal categorization. The Rasch analysis was demonstrated to be a useful post-hoc analytic approach in determining the optimal categorization of an ordered-response scale.     

Sonographic detection of focal changes in the liver hilus in patients receiving corticosteroid therapy

OBJECTIVE: While diffuse deposition of fat may occur with corticosteroid (CS) administration both in the liver and in other organs, comparatively little is known about focal changes in the liver under corticosteroid medication. Therefore, we evaluated pattern and extent of focal hepatic steatosis by ultrasound (US) in patients receiving corticosteroids. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: 93 patients with known inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) received corticosteroids during a period of at least six weeks prior to the ultrasound examination and 28 IBD-patients had no corticosteroids within the last three years. 13 additional patients received corticosteroids for other reasons than IBD for > 1 year. 80 healthy volunteers served as controls. Focal changes of the liver as assessed by high resolution ultrasound (Acuson 128, 3.5 and 5 MHz) were defined as areas of brighter echogenicity compared to the general aspect of the liver. The size of the hyperechoic areas was documented (photoprint). RESULTS: 40/93 IBD-patients with corticosteroids (43%) had definite areas of brighter echos in the hilus region of the liver. In IBD-patients without corticosteroids only one patient showed a focal brighter echogenicity, whereas in the non-IBD group with corticosteroids 8/13 had focal lesions (62%). In the control group only four healthy subjects showed brighter areas (5%). CONCLUSION: Bright focal areas in the liver hilus occur in > 40% of IBD-patients during corticosteroid medication. This phenomenon occurs in IBD-patients as frequently and as intense as in other patients with longstanding corticosteroid therapy. There is a hilar area of the liver with typical size and location which reacts to corticosteroid administration with hyperechoic reflexes at ultrasound investigation. This is important to know when it comes to the differential diagnosis of focal changes.     

CCD-3693: an orally bioavailable analog of the endogenous neuroactive steroid, pregnanolone, demonstrates potent sedative hypnotic actions in the rat

Signal detectability was measured in three temporal conditions as a function of the bandwidth and configuration of simultaneous maskers that either did or did not spectrally overlap the signal. The 20-ms signal was 250 Hz wide and was centered at 2500 Hz (fs). Although there were marked individual differences, performance was typically poorer when signal onset came 1 ms rather than 250 ms after the onset of a 420-ms masker, and poorest when signal onset came 1 ms after the onset of a 23-ms masker. The results support the idea that two separate across-channel processes contribute to temporal changes in signal detectability. One process contributes to the improvement observed as signal onset is delayed from masker onset, and its influence is reduced by the presence of masking components at fs only when the masker extends exclusively below fs. The other process is associated with the improvement observed as masker offset is delayed from signal offset, and its influence is reduced by the presence of masking components at fs when the masker extends exclusively above, or both below and above fs. Both of these processes are primarily activated by frequencies ranging from 0.6 to 0.8fs and 1.2 to 1.4fs. The data also demonstrate that the measured critical bandwidth narrows as signal onset is delayed from masker onset.     

A system for classifying mechanical injuries of the eye (globe). The Ocular Trauma Classification Group

PURPOSE: To develop a classification system for mechanical injuries of the eye. METHODS: The Ocular Trauma Classification Group, a committee of 13 ophthalmologists from seven separate institutions, was organized to discuss the standardization of ocular trauma classification. To develop the classification system, the group reviewed trauma classification systems in ophthalmology and general medicine and, in detail, reports on the characteristics and outcomes of eye trauma, then established a classification system based on standard terminology and features of eye injuries at initial examination that have demonstrated prognostic significance. RESULTS: This system classifies both open-globe and closed-globe injuries according to four separate variables: type of injury, based on the mechanism of injury; grade of injury, defined by visual acuity in the injured eye at initial examination; pupil, defined as the presence or absence of a relative afferent pupillary defect in the injured eye; and zone of injury, based on the anteroposterior extent of the injury. This system is designed to be used by ophthalmologists and nonophthalmologists who care for patients or conduct research on ocular injuries. An ocular injury is classified during the initial examination or at the time of the primary surgical intervention and does not require extraordinary testing. CONCLUSIONS: This classification system will categorize ocular injuries at the time of initial examination. It is designed to promote the use of standard terminology and assessment, with applications to clinical management and research stud ies regarding eye injuries.