Validation of a measure of excessive drinking: frequency per year that BAL exceeds 0.08%

Although self-report data are generally evaluated as reliable, validity estimates for self-reported drinking behavior are not as favorable. A new method of measurement addressing problems currently associated with the questionable validity of self-report drinking information is introduced. Study 1 tests the correspondence between the new measure (occasions per year blood alcohol level exceeded 0.08%), traditional self-report measures, and laboratory alcohol consumption. The novel measure correlated most strongly with volume of alcohol consumed in the laboratory compared to the traditional measures. In Study 2 the novel measure was favored over a traditional measure when discriminating between the presence and absence of problem-drinking symptoms.     

Paget bone disease involving young adults in 3 generations of a Korean family

Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive disease with a dismal prognosis. It has long been regarded as one of the most difficult cancers to accurately diagnose and stage preoperatively. The purpose of this review is to provide an update of the state-of-the-art for early detection, diagnosis, and staging of pancreatic cancer. These methods include spiral CT scans, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, laparoscopy, endoscopic ultrasound, CA 19-9 serology, fine needle aspiration cytology, ERCP brush cytology, and screening for p53 and ras oncogenes. These advanced techniques should help us to detect pancreatic cancers in high-risk populations at a curative stage and to decrease pancreaticoduodenectomies for benign disease which could otherwise be treated with less morbid procedures. In addition, these tests will help reliably diagnose pancreatic cancer preoperatively.     

Endometriosis in monozygotic twins

OBJECTIVE: To describe the occurrence of endometriosis in monozygotic twins. DESIGN: Postal questionnaire plus confirmation of disease status. SETTING: Twins were recruited via the American Endometriosis Association and the National Endometriosis Society of Great Britain and via British gynecologists. RESULT(S): Fourteen twin pairs were concordant for endometriosis, and two were discordant. Nine pairs of twins had moderate-severe endometriosis. CONCLUSION(S): These findings contribute to the growing body of literature that suggests endometriosis has a genetic basis.     

A survey of transformation markers in differentiating epidermal cell lines in culture

Primary mouse epidermal cells underwent spontaneous malignant transformation in culture. TWelve malignant epidermal cell lines were established which produced squamous cell carcinomas in syngeneic hosts. These lines were used to define criteria for recognizing transformed epidermal cells in vitro. Growth in suspension in agar, agarose, or Methocel was minimal for 11 of the lines. All lines tested retained specific epidermal antigens (pemphigus, pemphigoid, keratin) by indirect immunofluorescence, but keratin content was reduced when quantified by radioimmunoassay. Basal activity of ornithine decarboxylase and activity induced by the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate were variable among lines. All malignant lines as well as normal epidermal cells grew well at reduced extracellular calcium concentrations. When the extracellular calcium was elevated, normal cells ceased proliferation, terminally differentiated, and sloughed from the culture dish, while malignant cells continued to proliferate although they expressed differentiative functions. These results indicate that malignant transformation in epidermis is associated with a fundamental alteration in the program of terminal differentiation which allows some cells to escape the proliferative block and cell death which accompanies differentiation in normal keratinocytes. This alteration should be useful to select for transformants during the process of carcinogenesis in vitro.     

Will genetics revolutionize psychiatry?

After a declining period by the mid-1980s and its stabilization in 1985-1995, the morbidity rates of tuberculosis in Uzbekistan increased in 1996 by 20.7% as compared to 1995, by 24% among children in the past decade, and 2 times among adolescents and young individuals aged under 30 years within 5 years. The rise of mortality rates is accompanied by aggravation of the clinical forms of the tuberculosis cases detected. The goal-oriented examinations of populations at risk of the disease in 14 districts of the Republic indicated a 1.5-fold increase in total mortality rates, followed by an upward tendency.     

Antigen detection on resin sections and methods for improving the immunogold labeling by manipulating the resin

Considering the importance of immunolocalization of cellular substances combined with good ultrastructure and ease of use, this review is focused on the use of resin and the possibilities of manipulating the resin before and after embedding in order to improve the immunolabeling of resin sections for electron microscopy. The qualities of acrylic resins and conventional epoxy resin for immunoelectron microscopy are discussed. Acrylic sections are usually more suited for immunoelectron microscopy than conventional epoxy sections. Different etching procedures (sodium ethoxide or sodium metaperiodate) may be applied to conventional epoxy sections to enhance the yield of immunolabeling. Lately, a method which does not involve any kind of etching has been developed for enhancing the immunogold labeling of epoxy sections up to about 8 times. This method involves increased concentration of accelerator in the epoxy resin mixture when processing the tissue. The ultrastructural preservation of the tissue is important in immunoelectron microscopical procedures, and not only the intensity of the immunolabeling; in this respect no resin may compete with the widely used epoxy resins.