Posttraumatic stress in children and adolescents exposed to family violence: I. Overview and issues.

Exposure to child physical abuse and parents' domestic violence can subject youth to pervasive traumatic stress and can lead to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This article presents evolving conceptualizations in the burgeoning field of trauma related to family violence exposure and describes how the often repeating and ongoing nature of family violence exposure can complicate a PTSD diagnosis. In addition, recent literature indicates that children exposed to family violence may experience problems in multiple domains of functioning and may meet criteria for multiple disorders in addition to PTSD. Considerations salient to the recognition of traumatic stress in this population and that inform assessment and treatment planning are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Knowing and Not Knowing About Trauma: Implications for Therapy.

Levels of awareness for trauma and their consequences for research, treatment, and prevention within professional psychology and society are considered. When people must endure chronically traumatic environments, it may be adaptive to isolate from awareness information that would produce cognitive dissonance and threaten necessary relationships. Unawareness may also facilitate functioning in environments that invalidate the prevalence and impact of trauma. In addition, characteristics of the posttraumatic environment can promote or impede individuals' awareness of trauma and their psychological functioning. Though often initially adaptive, unawareness for trauma is linked to intergenerational transmission of trauma and its effects and may preclude public and professional attention to trauma treatment and prevention. Understanding the processes through which individuals become unaware or aware of traumatic experience is therefore essential to conducting effective psychotherapy with trauma survivors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Work-related chronic injuries of the forearm and hand: their specific diagnosis and management

Work-related chronic injuries occur in muscles, tendons, and nerves. Epidemiological, histological, and physiological data confirm their often disputed physical basis. Terms such as repetitive strain injury and cumulative trauma disorder, when used as a diagnosis, have obscured the issue for they are really statements of causation. Definitive diagnosis is required both to treat and prevent such injuries. Precise terminology that identifies the tissue and its pathology is required. A detailed assessment methodology is described that allows a precise diagnosis. A clear relationship to work stress is necessary both to establish the cause and formulate prevention strategies. Treatment must begin early and be appropriate to the tissue and the nature of the injury. Examples are presented and discussed. Early treatment begins before too much damage has been done and yields better results.     

BPV-I,II型防弹背心防护效果的实验研究

从抗弹丸贯穿和防止非贯穿性损伤的角度，观察几种复合式防弹层的防护效果和ＢＰＶ－Ｉ，ＩＩ型防弹背心的防护能力。构成ＢＰＶ－Ｉ，ＩＩ型防弹背心的材料有经特殊热处理的合金铝板，高强度锦纶绸和特殊结构的减伤层。实验结果表明：Ｉ型防弹背心能有效地抵御５４式７．６２ｍｍ手枪弹，有效防护距离３．４０ｍ以上；ＩＩ型背心可防护低，中速破片，Ｖ５０为ｍ／ｓ．动物防护实验表明：Ｉ型防弹背心可十分有效地防止器官组织的非贯     

The Efficacy of Fibrinogen Concentrates in Relation to Cryoprecipitate in Restoring Clot Integrity and Stability against Lysis

Loss of fibrinogen is a feature of trauma-induced coagulopathy (TIC), and restoring this clotting factor is protective against hemorrhages. We compared the efficacy of cryoprecipitate, and of the fibrinogen concentrates RiaSTAP^® and FibCLOT^® in restoring the clot integrity in models of TIC. Cryoprecipitate and FibCLOT^® produced clots with higher maximal absorbance and enhanced resistance to lysis relative to RiaSTAP^®. The fibrin structure of clots, comprising cryoprecipitate and FibCLOT^®, mirrored those of normal plasma, whereas those with RiaSTAP^® showed stunted fibers and reduced porosity. The hemodilution of whole blood reduced the maximum clot firmness (MCF) as assessed by thromboelastography. MCF could be restored with the inclusion of 1 mg/mL of fibrinogen, but only FibCLOT^® was effective at stabilizing against lysis. The overall clot strength, measured using the Quantra^® hemostasis analyzer, was restored with both fibrinogen concentrates but not cryoprecipitate. α₂antiplasmin and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) were constituents of cryoprecipitate but were negligible in RiaSTAP^® and FibCLOT^®. Interestingly, cryoprecipitate and FibCLOT^® contained significantly higher factor XIII (FXIII) levels, approximately three-fold higher than RiaSTAP^®. Our data show that 1 mg/mL fibrinogen, a clinically achievable concentration, can restore adequate clot integrity. However, FibCLOT^®, which contained more FXIII, was superior in normalizing the clot structure and in stabilizing hemodiluted clots against mechanical and fibrinolytic degradation.     

Comparative amperometry on ocular-surgery electrolytes in eye-splinter trauma from galvanized-steel electrochemistry

Metal foreign bodies in the eye are commonly removed utilizing a surgical approach through the vitreous cavity, which requires a maintained ocular pressure by infusion of replacement “irrigation solution”, i.e., electrolyte. However, when in contact with aerated electrolyte, if the fragment comprises galvanized steel, the component metals can act as a bimetallic zinc/steel cell, thereby electrochemically generating injurious amounts of hydroxyl ion OH⁻. The effect on this electrochemical reaction of the compositions of the irrigation solutions in use, and of their analogues, has thus been investigated, to seek the least damaging. The inter-metallic current relates directly to the rate of the injurious reaction, hence amperometry has been the principal probe employed in our study. Establishing reproducible conditions of contact between electrolyte and the steel–zinc combination forms a major focus of the study, which is to attain amperometric reproducibility in the comparison of the electrolytes. Geometry-sensitive directed injection of test solution into a cell with pre-fixed separate steel and Zn electrodes achieved the desiderata. Besides potentiometry and amperometry, pH and buffering by the various test solutions, and the effects of surfactants, were also examined. Free-radical intermediates in the oxygen processes are further injurious suspects. Anaerobic conditions that would preclude both intermediates and OH⁻ are unfortunately damaging to the structures of the eye, so alternative surgical procedures are needed. Anti-corrosion aspects are considered.

Evaluation of the Effects of Developmental Trauma on Neurotransmitter Systems Using Functional Molecular Imaging

Early life stress (ELS) is strongly associated with psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia in adulthood. To date, biological, behavioral, and structural aspects of ELS have been studied extensively, but their functional effects remain unclear. Here, we examined NeuroPET studies of dopaminergic, glutamatergic, and serotonergic systems in ELS animal models. Maternal separation and restraint stress were used to generate single or complex developmental trauma. Body weights of animals exposed to single trauma were similar to those of control animals; however, animals exposed to complex trauma exhibited loss of body weight when compared to controls. In behavioral tests, the complex developmental trauma group exhibited a decrease in time spent in the open arm of the elevated plus-maze and an increase in immobility time in the forced swim test when compared to control animals. In NeuroPET studies, the complex trauma group displayed a reduction in brain uptake values when compared to single trauma and control groups. Of neurotransmitter systems analyzed, the rate of decrease in brain uptake was the highest in the serotonergic group. Collectively, our results indicate that developmental trauma events induce behavioral deficits, including anxiety- and depressive-like phenotypes and dysfunction in neurotransmitter systems.     

Sex Differences in the Triad of Acquired Sensorineural Hearing Loss

The triad of noise-generated, drug-induced, and age-related hearing loss is the major cause of acquired sensorineural hearing loss (ASNHL) in modern society. Although these three forms of hearing loss display similar underlying mechanisms, detailed studies have revealed the presence of sex differences in the auditory system both in human and animal models of ASNHL. However, the sexual dimorphism of hearing varies among noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), ototoxicity, and age-related hearing loss (ARHL). Importantly, estrogen may play an essential role in modulating the pathophysiological mechanisms in the cochlea and several reports have shown that the effects of hormone replacement therapy on hearing loss are complex. This review will summarize the clinical features of sex differences in ASNHL, compare the animal investigations of cochlear sexual dimorphism in response to the three insults, and address how estrogen affects the auditory organ at molecular levels.     

Acute exposure to gas‐supersaturated water does not affect reproductive success of female adult chinook salmon late in maturation

At times, total dissolved gas concentrations in the Columbia and Snake rivers have been elevated due to involuntary spill from high spring runoff and voluntary spill used as a method to pass juvenile salmonids over dams. The goal of this project was to determine if acute exposure to total dissolved gas supersaturation (TDGS) affects the reproductive performance of female chinook salmon late in their maturation. During this study, adult female spring chinook salmon were exposed to mean TDGS levels of 114.1% to 125.5%. We ended exposures at first mortality, or at the appearance of impending death. Based on this criterion, exposures lasted from 10 to 68 h and were inversely related to TDGS. There was no effect of TDGS on pre‐spawning mortality or fecundity when comparing treatment fish to experimental controls or the general hatchery population four to six weeks after exposures. Egg quality, based on egg weight and egg diameter, did not differ between treatment and control fish. Fertilization rate and survival to eyed‐stage was high ( > 94%) for all groups. With the exception of Renibacterium salmoninarum (the causative agent of bacterial kidney disease; BKD), no viral or bacterial fish pathogens were isolated from experimental fish. The prevalence (about 45%) and severity of R. salmoninarum did not differ among the groups or the general hatchery population. We conclude that these acute exposures to moderate levels of gas‐supersaturated water—perhaps similar to that experienced by immigrating adult salmon as they approach and pass a hydropower dam on the Columbia River—did not affect reproductive success of female chinook salmon late in their maturation. These results are most applicable to summer and fall chinook salmon, which migrate in the summer/fall and spawn shortly after reaching their natal streams. Published in 2004 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Veteran interest in family involvement in PTSD treatment.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 7(3) of Psychological Services (see record 2010-17074-004). The copyright for the article was listed incorrectly. This article is in the Public Domain. The online version has been corrected.] The present study examined interest in family involvement in treatment and preferences concerning the focus of family oriented treatment for veterans (N = 114) participating in an outpatient Veterans Affairs outpatient posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) program. Most veterans viewed PTSD as a source of family stress (86%) and expressed interest in greater family involvement in their treatment (79%). These results suggest the need to consider increasing family participation in the clinical care of individuals with PTSD and to develop specialized family educational and support services for this population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)