Adolescent Gambling: Relationships With Parent Gambling and Parenting Practices.

This study explored the possible links between family risk factors (i.e., parent gambling and parenting practices) and adolescent gambling. A community sample of 938 adolescents (496 females and 442 males) completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA; K. C. Winters, R. Stinchfield, & J. Fulkerson, 1993b) along with a questionnaire assessing parenting practices. Both parents completed the SOGS (H. R. Lesieur & S. B. Blume, 1987). Results showed that adolescent gambling frequency was related to both parents' gambling frequency and problems. However, adolescent gambling problems were linked only to fathers' severity of gambling problems. Low levels of parental monitoring enhanced adolescents' risk of getting involved in gambling activities and developing related problems. A higher level of inadequate disciplinary practices was also related to greater gambling problems in youth. These links were significant after controlling for socioeconomic status, gender, and impulsivity- hyperactivity problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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.     

Identification of high-affinity binding sites for the insulin sensitizer rosiglitazone (BRL-49653) in rodent and human adipocytes using a radioiodinated ligand for peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor gamma

A radioiodinated ligand, [125I]SB-236636 [(S)-(-)3-[4-[2-[N-(2-benzoxazolyl)-N-methylamino]ethoxy]3-[125I]i odo phenyl]2-ethoxy propanoic acid], which is specific for the gamma isoform of the peroxisomal proliferator activated receptor (PPARgamma), was developed. [125I]SB-236636 binds with high affinity to full-length human recombinant PPARgamma1 and to a GST (glutathione S-transferase) fusion protein containing the ligand binding domain of human PPARgamma1 (KD = 70 nM). Using this ligand, we characterized binding sites in adipose-derived cells from rat, mouse and humans. In competition experiments, rosiglitazone (BRL-49653), a potent antihyperglycemic agent, binds with high affinity to sites in intact adipocytes (IC50 = 12, 4 and 9 nM for rat, 3T3-L1 and human adipocytes, respectively). Binding affinities (IC50) of other thiazolidinediones for the ligand binding domain of PPARgamma1 were comparable with those determined in adipocytes and reflected the rank order of potencies of these agents as stimulants of glucose transport in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and antihyperglycemic agents in vivo: rosiglitazone > pioglitazone > troglitazone. Competition of [125I]SB-236636 binding was stereoselective in that the IC50 value of SB-219994, the (S)-enantiomer of an alpha-trifluoroethoxy propanoic acid insulin sensitizer, was 770-fold lower than that of SB-219993 [(R)-enantiomer] at recombinant human PPARgamma1. The higher binding affinity of SB-219994 also was evident in intact adipocytes and reflected its 100-fold greater potency as an antidiabetic agent. The results strongly suggest that the high-affinity binding site for [125I]SB-236636 in intact adipocytes is PPARgamma and that the pharmacology of insulin-sensitizer binding in rodent and human adipocytes is very similar and, moreover, predictive of antihyperglycemic activity in vivo.     

Diastolic dysfunction and altered energetics in the alphaMHC403/+ mouse model of familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

An arginine to glutamine missense mutation at position 403 of the beta-cardiac myosin heavy chain causes familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Here we study mice which have this same missense mutation (alphaMHC403/+) using an isolated, isovolumic heart preparation where cardiac performance is measured simultaneously with cardiac energetics using 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We observed three major alterations in the physiology and bioenergetics of the alphaMHC403/+ mouse hearts. First, while there was no evidence of systolic dysfunction, diastolic function was impaired during inotropic stimulation. Diastolic dysfunction was manifest as both a decreased rate of left ventricular relaxation and an increase in end-diastolic pressure. Second, under baseline conditions alphaMHC403/+ hearts had lower phosphocreatine and increased inorganic phosphate contents resulting in a decrease in the calculated value for the free energy released from ATP hydrolysis. Third, hearts from alphaMHC403/+ hearts that were studied unpaced responded to increased perfusate calcium by decreasing heart rate approximately twice as much as wild types. We conclude that hearts from alphaMHC403/+ mice demonstrate work load-dependent diastolic dysfunction resembling the human form of familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Changes in high-energy phosphate content suggest that an energy-requiring process may contribute to the observed diastolic dysfunction.     

Evidence supporting the formation of 2,3-epoxy-3-methylindoline: a reactive intermediate of the pneumotoxin 3-methylindole

The existence of a cytochrome P450-dependent 2,3-epoxide of the potent pneumotoxin 3-methylindole was indirectly confirmed using stable isotope techniques and mass spectrometry. Determination of hydride shift and incorporation of labeled oxygen in 3-methyloxindole and 3-hydroxy-3-methyloxindole, metabolites that may be in part dependent on the presence of the epoxide, were utilized as indicators of the epoxide's existence. One mechanism for the formation of 3-methyloxindole involves cytochrome P450-mediated epoxidation followed by ring opening requiring a hydride shift from C-2 to C-3. Through incubations of goat lung microsomes with [2-2H]-3-methylindole, the retention of 2H in 3-methyloxindole was found to be 81%, indicating a majority of the oxindole was produced by the mechanism described above. 3-Hydroxy-3-methylindolenine is an imine reactive intermediate that could be produced by ring opening of the 2,3-epoxide. The imine may be oxidized to 3-hydroxy-3-methyloxindole by the cytosolic enzyme aldehyde oxidase. Activities of this putative detoxification enzyme were determined in both hepatic and pulmonary tissues from goats, rats, mice, and rabbits, but the activities could not be correlated to the relative susceptibilities of the four species to 3-methylindole toxicity. The 18O incorporation into either 3-methyloxindole or 3-hydroxy-3-methyloxindole from both 18O2 and H218O was determined. The 18O incorporation into 3-methyloxindole from 18O2 was 91%, strongly implicating a mechanism requiring cytochrome P450-mediated oxygenation. Incorporation of 18O into 3-hydroxy-3-methyloxindole indicated that the alcohol oxygen originated from molecular oxygen, also implicating an epoxide precursor. These studies demonstrate the existence of two new reactive intermediates of 3-methylindole and describe the mechanisms of their formation and fate.     

Pediatric head injuries and deaths from bicycling in the United States

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the potential benefit of increasing bicycle helmet use among children and adolescents in the United States. DESIGN: All bicycle-related deaths (Multiple Cause-of-Death Public Use Data Tapes, 1989 through 1992) and bicycle-related injuries treated in sampled emergency departments (National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, 1989 through 1993) were used to calculate traumatic brain injury-associated death and head injury rates per 1,000,000 US residents. Preventable injuries and deaths were estimated by calculating the population-attributable risk of head injury due to nonuse of bicycle helmets. PATIENTS: US residents aged 0 through 19 years who were injured or who died as a result of a bicycle crash. RESULTS: An average of 247 traumatic brain injury deaths and 140,000 head injuries among children and adolescents younger than 20 years were related to bicycle crashes each year in the United States. As many as 184 deaths and 116,000 head injuries might have been prevented annually if these riders had worn helmets. An additional 19,000 mouth and chin injuries were treated each year. The youngest age groups had the highest proportions of both head and mouth injuries. CONCLUSION: There continues to be a need to advocate for greater use of bicycle helmets, particularly among young children. Helmet design changes should be considered to prevent mouth injuries.     

Studies of the distribution of lipofuscin in the retinal pigment epithelium using high-resolution TV laser scanning ophthalmoscopy

BACKGROUND: The fundus autofluorescence imaging technique has been modified allowing improved image resolution (768 x 572 pixel). We present results of fundus autofluorescence studies using this technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fundus autofluorescence was studied in 286 eyes of 143 patients with retinitis pigmentosa, macular dystrophies and age-related macular degeneration using a confocal laser scanning ophthalmoscope prototype (Zeiss, Oberkochen; excitation wavelength: 488 nm, cut-off filter at 521 nm). RESULTS: The spatial distribution of autofluorescence was different in all diseased eyes investigated compared to the normal pattern of fundus autofluorescence. Each disorder showed a specific fundus autofluorescence appearance. CONCLUSIONS: The advanced technique of imaging fundus autofluorescence allows detailed studies of the lipofuscin distribution. In vivo analysis of the dynamics of accumulation and degradation of lipofuscin in eyes with tapeto-retinal dystrophies and age-related macular disease may contribute to elucidation of the pathogenesis of these disorders.     

Lipopolysaccharide induces sickness behaviour in rats by a vagal mediated mechanism

A 52-year-old man was hospitalized for a right adrenal tumor which had been incidentally found by abdominal CT scan for examination of colon cancer. Laboratory and endocrine findings were within the normal limits except for increased urinary concentrations of noradrenaline and dopamine. Adrenal angiography revealed that the feeding artery of the tumor was the inferior suprarenal artery. Adrenal venous blood sampling studies detected no abnormalities in the concentrations of catecholamine, cortisol or aldosterone. Right adrenalectomy was performed and the tumor was histologically diagnosed as ganglioneuroma. Ganglioneuroma is a benign tumor originating from the sympathetic nerve ganglion. The adrenal origin of the tumor is relatively rare and 60 cases of adrenal ganglioneuroma including our case have been reported in Japan.