Biotin deficiency in chicks fed a wheat-based diet

A wheat-based diet produced severe biotin deficiency symptoms appearing at the age of ten to fourteen days and becoming very severe in the third and fourth week (group 1). Biotin supplementation with 50 mug/kg (group 2) reduced the symptoms almost completely, but did not restore completely growth compared to chicks receiving the diet supplemented with 300 mug biotin/kg compared to chicks receiving the diet supplemented with 300 mug biotin/kg (group 3). The plasma level of biotin was about, or lower than, 100 ng/100 ml plasma in groups 1 and 2, indicating biotin deficiency. In group 3, plasma biotin was above 200 ng/100 ml. Liver biotin, after two weeks, was low in group 1 (less than 600 ng/g), medium in group 2 (1000 to 1500 ng/g) and in group 3 above 2000 ng/g. Plasma and liver biotin levels are found to be suitable parameters for diagnosis of subclinical biotin deficiency in chicks.     

A nutritional survey of 38 single elderly persons with free choice of food

The nutritional habits of 38 randomly selected single aged people with free choice of food have been investigated by the precise weighing method. Blood serum levels of the vitamins A, C, and E and of beta-carotene and biotin were analyzed, and the nutritional status with respect to the vitamins B1, B2, and B6 was examined by the transketolase-test, the glutathione-reductase-test, and the glutamic-acid-oxalo-acetic-transaminase-test. In relation to the desirable daily supply of nutrients and other dietary components the food was deficient in the vitamins B1, and B6 and in magnesium. For women an additional calcium-deficiency was demonstrated. The dietary fat content, however, was found to be high (44% of total calorie intake). The results of the blood analyses suggest an insufficient dietary supply of vitamin B1, partly also of the vitamins B6 and C. The total caloric intake was found to be rather low with respect to the age.     

The impact on alcohol-related collisions of the partial decriminalization of impaired driving in British Columbia,Canada

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of administrative sanctions introduced as part of a new law for drinking drivers in British Columbia, Canada. The new law, known as immediate roadside prohibitions (IRP), aimed to increase the efficiency of police and courts for processing drinking drivers, thereby increasing the certainty of their being apprehended and punished. However, in order to maintain these efficiencies, sanctions under this new law largely replaced laws under the Criminal Code of Canada for Driving While Impaired (DWI) by alcohol, which had more severe penalties but lower certainty of punishment. We examined whether the intervention was related to abrupt significant declines in three types of alcohol-related collisions (i.e. fatalities, injuries or property damage only) compared to the same type of collisions without alcohol involvement.

Methods

An interrupted time series design, with a non-equivalent control was used, testing for an intervention effect. Monthly rates of the three types of collisions with and without alcohol involvement were calculated for the 15-year period before and the 1-year period after implementation of the new law. ARIMA time series analysis was conducted controlling for trend effects, seasonality, autocorrelation, and collisions without alcohol.

Results

Significant average declines (p < 0.05) in alcohol-related collisions were found as follows: 40.4% for fatal collisions, 23.4% for injury collisions and 19.5% for property damage only collisions. No significant effects were found for any of the three comparable non-alcohol-related types of collisions.

Conclusions

These results suggest that provincial law of administrative sanctions for drinking drivers and associated publicity was more effective for minimizing alcohol-related collisions than laws under the Canadian Criminal Code.     

Procedural justice in resolving family disputes: Implications for childhood bullying.

High levels of family conflict and poor family conflict resolution strategies are often associated with externalizing behaviors in children, including the behavior of bullying. Through family interactions, parents have the opportunity to convey a variety of messages to the child. Some of these messages are sent through the child’s appraisal of procedural justice, which refers to the judgments of fairness directed at the process by which a conflict is resolved. The current study investigated the relationship between appraisals of procedural justice in family conflict resolution and bullying among middle-school students. A sample of 1910 sixth through eighth graders completed a self-report survey on school violence. Structural equation modeling revealed a significant relationship in which higher appraisals of procedural justice during family conflict resolution were associated with lower frequencies of bullying by the child. Furthermore, this relationship was partially mediated by the internalization of the parent’s conduct during the conflict resolution process. The current study extended the research literature addressing the relevance of procedural justice in child development. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)