Youth gambling behaviors: An examination of the role of resilience.

The study of resilient children has overturned many deficit-focused models concerning the ontogenesis of children raised in adversity. This study explored the relationship between risk and protective factors, resilience, and youth gambling behavior. More specifically, this study examined the relative contribution of various risk and protective domains in relation to problem gambling behavior and examined whether youth identified as resilient (high risk exposure- high internalized protection) were as likely as those identified as vulnerable (high risk exposure-low internalized protection) to engage in excessive gambling behavior. The sample consisted of 1,273 students ages 12 to 19. The findings demonstrated that risk and protective factors each provide a unique contribution to the prediction model of gambling problems. Resilient and vulnerable youth differed significantly in their self-reported gambling severity. As well, resilient youth were not statistically distinguishable from low-risk exposure groups in terms of their gambling severity. Findings are interpreted with respect to resilience and prevention research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Randomised trial of octreotide for long term management of cirrhosis after variceal haemorrhage

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of long term octreotide as adjuvant treatment to programmed endoscopic sclerotherapy after acute variceal haemorrhage in cirrhotic portal hypertension. DESIGN: Randomised clinical trial. SETTING: University hospital. SUBJECTS: 32 patients with cirrhotic portal hypertension. INTERVENTIONS: Programmed injection sclerotherapy with subcutaneous octreotide 50 micrograms twice daily for 6 months, or programmed injection sclerotherapy alone. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Episodes of recurrent variceal bleeding and survival. RESULTS: Significantly fewer patients receiving combined octreotide and sclerotherapy had episodes of recurrent variceal bleeding compared with patients given sclerotherapy alone (1/16 v 7/16; P = 0.037, Fisher's exact test), and their survival was significantly improved (P < 0.02, log rank test); this improvement was maintained for 12 months after the end of the study. Combined treatment also resulted in a sustained decrease in portal pressure (median decrease -6.0 mm Hg, interquartile range -10 to -4.75 mm Hg, P = 0.0002) compared with sclerotherapy alone (median increase 1.5 mm Hg, interquartile range 0.25 to 3.25 mm Hg), as well as a significant improvement in liver function as assessed by plasma concentrations of bilirubin, albumin, and alanine aminotransferase and by hepatocyte metabolism of aminopyrine labelled with carbon-14. CONCLUSION: Long term octreotide may be a valuable adjuvant to endoscopic sclerotherapy for acute variceal haemorrhage in cirrhotic portal hypertension.     

Can amiodarone pulmonary toxicity be predicted in patients undergoing implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation?

Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation is rapidly becoming accepted as primary therapy for malignant ventricular arrhythmias. Many patients undergoing ICD implantation are on concomitant antiarrhythmic drugs to decrease shock frequency, slow tachycardia rate, and suppress supraventricular arrhythmias. Amiodarone is a potent antiarrhythmic agent that is also frequently used in the treatment of patients with refractory ventricular arrhythmias. Ten to forty percent of patients undergoing ICD implantation will also be taking amiodarone. It has been reported to cause pulmonary toxicity in about 5% of patients per year. Acute amiodarone toxicity presenting as adult respiratory distress syndrome has been reported much less frequently. Although perioperative morbidity due to amiodarone has been described, the risk, predictability, and consequences of acute pulmonary toxicity from amiodarone in patients undergoing ICD implantation have not been previously described. We reviewed the records of 99 consecutive patients undergoing ICD implantation at our institution from October 1987 to April 1992. Thirty-nine patients were taking 480 +/- 230 mg of amiodarone (median 400 mg, lower 20th percentile 400 mg, upper 80th percentile 800 mg) for 291 +/- 554 days prior to ICD implantation. Ten patients taking amiodarone developed acute pulmonary toxicity clinically manifesting as diffuse pulmonary infiltrates on chest radiography and adult respiratory distress syndrome with hypoxia (arterial pO2 < 60 mmHg) without evidence of pneumonia or elevated pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCW < or = 15 mmHg). Of the 60 patients not taking amiodarone none developed adult respiratory distress syndrome.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Intergenerational effects of high neuroticism in parents and their public health significance.

The article by Lahey (May–June 2009) provided a timely and important review of a growing body of evidence linking the personality trait of neuroticism to a host of health and psychosocial outcomes with public health significance. Lahey (2009) highlighted the links between high neuroticism and mental health, physical health, and quality of life and described the putative genetic and environmental causes of high neuroticism. He recommended screening for high neuroticism and interventions for those presenting this trait in order to reduce health care costs resulting from the associated conditions. We applaud his treatise but note that it failed to address the impact of high neuroticism among parents on their children’s long-term psychosocial functioning and mental health. In sum, Lahey (2009) provided a compelling argument for considering interventions for persons with high neuroticism as a public health initiative. We strongly support this call for action, as evidence does show that neuroticism adversely affects not only the individual and his or her social environment but the generations to follow. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Architectures for molecular electronic computers. I. Logicstructures and an adder designed from molecular electronic diodes

Recently, there have been significant advances in the fabrication and demonstration of individual molecular electronic wires and diode switches. This paper reviews those developments and shows how demonstrated molecular devices might be combined to design molecular-scale electronic digital computer logic. The design for the demonstrated rectifying molecular diode switches is refined and made more compatible with the demonstrated wires through the introduction of intramolecular dopant groups chemically bonded to modified molecular wires. Quantum mechanical calculations are performed to characterize some of the electrical properties of the proposed molecular diode switches. Explicit structural designs are displayed for AND, OR, and XOR gates that are built from molecular wires and molecular diode switches. The diode-based molecular electronic logic gates are combined to produce a design for a molecular-scale electronic half adder and a molecular-scale electronic full adder. These designs correspond to conductive monomolecular circuit structures that would be one million times smaller in area than the corresponding micron-scale digital logic circuits fabricated on conventional solid-state semiconductor computer chips. It appears likely that these nanometer-scale molecular electronic logic circuits could be fabricated and tested in the foreseeable future. At the very least, such molecular circuit designs constitute an exploration of the ultimate limits of electronic computer circuit miniaturization     

The peer relations of dropouts: a comparative study of at-risk and not at-risk youths

Little research has been devoted to exploring the relationship between high school disengagement and friendship network changes. In this study, the characteristics of friends, the environments of the friendship network and the nature of peer relations of students at-risk and not at-risk of dropping out of high school were compared. A questionnaire was given to 191 high school students (109 males, 82 females) from a middle class environment at the beginning and end of the school year. Results indicated that at-risk students had more dropout friends, more working friends, fewer school friends and fewer same-sex friends. Sex differences were discovered in several areas. Findings are discussed in relation to research and theories pertaining to dropouts and adolescent development.     

Clinical applications of pharmacologic therapies for spinal cord injury

We review the evidence supporting the role of glucocorticosteroids, trilazad, and GM1 ganglioside in spinal cord injury and provide our critique of the published studies, along with our recommendations for pharmacologic therapy for this complex and difficult problem.     

Optical and MRI multifunctional nanoprobe for targeting gliomas

A multifunctional nanoprobe capable of targeting glioma cells, detectable by both magnetic resonance imaging and fluorescence microscopy, was developed. The nanoprobe was synthesized by coating iron oxide nanoparticles with covalently bound bifunctional poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) polymer, which were subsequently functionalized with chlorotoxin and the near-infrared fluorescing molecule Cy5.5. Both MR imaging and fluorescence microscopy showed significant preferential uptake of the nanoparticle conjugates by glioma cells. Such a nanoprobe could potentially be used to image resections of glioma brain tumors in real time and to correlate preoperative diagnostic images with intraoperative pathology at cellular-level resolution.     

Objects and events as determinants of parallel processing in dual tasks: Evidence from the backward compatibility effect.

The backward-compatibility effect (BCE) is a major index of parallel processing in dual tasks and is related to the dependency of Task 1 performance on Task 2 response codes (Hommel, 1998). The results of four dual-task experiments showed that a BCE occurs when the stimuli of both tasks are included in the same visual object (Experiments 1 and 2) or belong to the same perceptual event (Experiments 3 and 4). Thus, the BCE may be modulated by factors that influence whether both task stimuli are included in the same perceptual event (objects, as studied in cognitive experiments, being special cases of events). As with objects, drawing attention to a (selected) event results in the processing of its irrelevant features and may interfere with task execution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)