The essential-reactive distinction in alcoholism: A developmental approach.

Used L. Phillips and E. Zigler's social competence index to classify 3 groups of 20 hospitalized alcoholics, nonpsychotic psychiatric patients, and medical patients into high and low social-competence subgroups. The 3 groups were compared on Rudie and McGaughran's Essential-Reactive Alcoholism Scale. Scores on this scale were found to be related to social competence for all 3 groups. The scale was also found to differentiate alcoholics from the other 2 groups. Characteristics of the scale were examined and the hypothesis advanced that the Essential-Reactive Alcoholism Scale largely assesses a general maturity dimension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluating alcoholism treatment programs: An integrated approach.

Examines the interrelationships among 5 major sets of variables (social background, intake symptoms, program type, treatment experiences, and perceptions of the environment) that are related to posttreatment functioning of alcoholic patients (alcohol consumption, rating of drinking problem, physical impairment, and occupational functioning). The sample consisted of 429 patients selected from 5 different treatment programs. All Ss completed the Community-Oriented Program Evironment Scale about 2 wks after admission to measure their perceptions of the program environment. The relative importance of each set of variables as predictors of outcome was estimated by constructing block variables, using path analyses, and partitioning the explained variance. Results show that (a) the combined explanatory power of the program-related variables is considerably more than would be expected from previous research; (b) the importance of patient background relative to intake symptoms varies with the outcome criterion being used; (c) both the treatment experiences and the patient's perceptions of the treatment environment are strong predictors of outcome; and (d) a substantial proportion of the explained variance is shared between patient-related and program-related variables, suggesting important patient-program selection and congruence effects. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biological vulnerability to alcoholism.

This article reviews the role of biological factors in the risk for alcoholism. The discussion notes the importance of the definition of primary alcoholism and highlights data indicating that this disorder is genetically influenced. The major emphasis is on studies of men at high risk for the future development of alcoholism. The most promising trait markers of a biological vulnerability to alcoholism include a decreased intensity of reaction to modest ethanol doses for sons of alcoholics compared with control subjects, a decreased amplitude of certain brain waves of the event-related potential, and a different pattern of background cortical electroencephalograms for young men at high risk for future alcoholism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gastrectomy enhances vulnerability to the development of alcoholism

The sensitivity of the most recent generation of anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) screening tests from seven manufacturers was evaluated with a common panel of 530 specimens from 320 HCV-infected subjects. This panel included 221 samples from 57 seroconverters (53 pre-sero conversion negative specimens and 168 positive samples) and 309 selected specimens from 263 other HCV-infected patients of which 19% exhibited NS3 or core reactivity alone with the presence of HCV-RNA assessed by PCR. None of the seven screening tests detected all infectious and antibody-positive specimens. However, important differences were observed between these assays in the number of false-negative results, which seemed mainly due to nonreactivity of antibody to the NS3 antigen.     

Matching treatment to alcoholism subtypes.

In the field of alcoholism treatment, as in mental health treatment more generally, no one treatment model is equally effective for all patients and problem types. Literature in both alcohol treatment and in psychotherapy research suggests some relationships in common between treatment efficacy and patient coping style, drinking patterns, and family dynamics. This literature suggests that "internalizing" alcoholics, whose drinking tends to be steady and to be functionally interwoven with family dynamics, will benefit more from family systems oriented treatments than from symptom- or individually focused treatments. Conversely, "externalizing" alcoholics may derive more benefit from symptom-focused cognitive and behavioral treatments than from family systems treatment. An ongoing research project designed to test these hypotheses and the development of treatment manuals that may increase differential treatment efficacy is described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developments in the treatment of alcoholism

The treatment of alcoholism has changed during the past 2 decades. Notable developments have occurred in pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, and health-care delivery. A better understanding of the biologic basis for addiction has led to clinical trials of medications that target neuroreceptors. One such medication is the opiate antagonist naltrexone, which decreases the craving for alcohol. Psychosocial interventions continue to be the mainstay of alcohol treatment programs. The efficacy of three different therapies was demonstrated in a study called Project MATCH (Matching Alcoholism Treatments to Client Heterogeneity). This study, however, did not prove the patient-treatment "matching" hypothesis. In addition to therapies provided by addiction specialists, interest is growing in the use of brief motivational techniques in primary-care settings. As the field of addiction responds to an unfolding health-care delivery system, a broader range of treatment options in conjunction with a greater opportunity to individualize patient care is evolving.     

Improvements in sintering

Sintering machine 1 at OAO Zaporozhstal’ has been reconstructed with increase in the sintering area from 62.5 to 75 m². A vibrational screening system ensures that the content of the ?5 mm fraction in skip sinter is 10.1–11.5%. The gas-purification equipment is reconstructed, with the introduction of two electro-filters and absorbers. That ensures compliance with the maximum permissible dust concentration of 50 mg/nm³ and reduces the SO₂ concentration to ～400 mg/nm³. Eirich R19 Konti heavy-duty mixers and granulators are used to prepare the dust for utilization.     

An heuristic model for the inherited predisposition to alcoholism.

Presents a research program for studying individuals genetically at high risk for alcoholism. Data from multigenerational nonproblem-drinking sons of male alcoholics indicate that the sons display a pattern of autonomic hyperreactivity to a variety of stimuli. This pattern of reactivity is significantly dampened by high doses of alcohol. These individuals also display difficulty on cognitive tests suggestive of prefrontal lobe dysfunction. This response pattern is not characteristic of controls nor of daughters of multigenerational male alcoholics. A model is presented that hypothesizes a cognitive disturbance underlying the hyperreactivity and posits a problem in the attribution of meaning to novel stimuli and threatening events. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perspectives on the professional in alcoholism.

Reviews relevant literature regarding the professional in alcoholism, an area in which nonprofessionals, often recovered alcoholics, and self-help fellowships have unusual influence. Professional values regarding research, innovation, and evaluation conflict with the "craft" and ideological commitment of paraprofessionals are discussed. Examples of the conflict of ideology vs research include the notions of irreversibility of alcoholism, loss of control over drinking, and alternative treatment goals. Professionals must also cope with the stigma of working in a "stigmatized" area. Role functions of professionals and value changes among paraprofessionals are suggested. (French abstract) (58 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

New drugs in the treatment of alcoholism

Pharmacotherapy of alcoholism is improving rapidly with the introduction of new agents. New knowledge about the neurobiology of alcoholism is necessary for the clinician, who has to establish the diagnosis. Useful pharmacological agents for the treatment of alcohol dependence can be classified into four groups: (1) agents for the treatment of the withdrawal syndrome, (2) aversive agents, (3) therapeutic agents for comorbidity, (4) new agents to reduce craving for alcohol or prevent relapse. These new agents derive from research in four directions, based on neurobiological hypotheses: (a) the glutamatergic hypothesis with acamprosate, (b) the opioid hypothesis with naltrexone, (c) the serotonergic hypothesis with the new antidepressants, and (d) other hypotheses, including dopaminergic, peptidic etc. Of these new agents, acamprosate has undergone most study in controlled clinical trials around Europe. Its efficacy has been demonstrated statistically, it is well tolerated and does not interact with alcohol. Acamprosate can be associated with disulfiram therapy. Future perspectives for treatment and research are discussed, in particular with regard to therapeutic associations.     

Improvements in steel-strip quality

The removal of high-temperature scale from hot-rolled billet is considered. Reducing the bearing rigidity at the supporting rollers permits more effective regulation of the gap between the rollers. New designs are proposed for the plungers of hydraulic roller-balancing devices, working-roller pads with a wedge system, and a universal rolling-mill spindle with mechanical compensation of the gap.     

New Policies are Needed to Encourage Improvements in Irrigation Management

Innovations are needed in both the technological and policy dimensions of water resource management to achieve the gains in productivity required to feed the world’s increasing population. Scientists and engineers will continue to discover and disseminate new information regarding the technology of water management. However, the effective demand for that information at the farm level will be limited in areas where water prices and allocations do not reflect scarcity conditions. This paper describes how public policies regarding water resources and agricultural production can motivate farmers to consider scarcity values and the off-farm impacts of irrigation and drainage activities. Farm-level and regional models of crop production are examined, and optimizing criteria derived from the models depict the role of scarcity values and policy parameters in farm-level decisions regarding water use. The rate at which improvements in water management are implemented by irrigators around the world might be enhanced substantially by replacing inappropriate policies with those that motivate farmers and others to use scarce resources efficiently.     

Improvements to the in vivo measurement of cadmium in the kidney by neutron activation analysis

The McMaster University in vivo cadmium measurement system has been upgraded. Two large surface area hyperpure germanium planar detectors (51 mm diameter x 21 mm depth) are now employed for the detection of the 559 keV gamma-ray signal from cadmium. Phantom studies indicate that the new detectors have significantly improved the system. The detection limit in kidney phantoms has been reduced from 8.9 to 3.8 mg for the same dose and measurement time.     

Smoking associated with alcoholism: introduction to the major human dependencies

We examined the relation between Quetelet's body mass index (BMI) and age-adjusted mortality risk from specific diseases in a 26-year prospective cohort study of 12,576 non-Hispanic white women who had never smoked. To account for effects due to antecedent disease, we focused on women surviving 15-26 years after their report of body weight. High BMI (>27 kg per m2) decreased the risk of fatal respiratory disease (hazard ratios of 0.7 for ages 30-54 years and 0.6 for ages 55-74 years) but increased risk in all other disease categories. Low BMI (<21 kg per m2) increased the risk of fatal respiratory disease (hazard ratios of 2.0 for ages 30-54 years and 1.4 for ages 55-74 years). Among middle-aged women (ages 30-54 years), we found that low BMI also increased the risk of certain fatal cardiovascular diseases (hazard ratios of 1.5 for cerebrovascular death and 2.5 for hypertensive and other cardiovascular deaths), but the increase in the risk of fatal cerebrovascular disease did not remain (hazard ratio of 0.4) after exclusion of subarachnoid and intraparenchymal hemorrhage deaths from the endpoint. Although the inverse relation between BMI and risk of fatal respiratory disease was also evident in the subset who reported body weight 17 years after baseline, further restriction of this subset to stable-weight women reporting no history of respiratory disease resulted in a U-shaped relation. Data from this subset also indicated that weight loss substantially increased the risk of fatal respiratory disease. These findings implicate high and low BMI as risk factors for fatal respiratory disease but suggest that the risk due to high BMI was obscured by weight loss that followed the onset of disease. The overall findings support an association between obesity and a higher risk of fatal disease but also raise the possibility that apparently healthy, never-smoking women can experience a higher long-term risk of fatal cardiovascular and respiratory diseases due to a lower body weight.