The association of form of gambling with problem gambling among American youth.

A random telephone survey was conducted with 2,274 United States residents aged 14 to 21. Analyses were performed to assess the relationship between the specific gambling games played and the extent of problem gambling symptoms. The forms of gambling that were most associated with gambling problems were card games, casino gambling, “other” gambling on routine activities, and betting on games of skill such as basketball, pool, or golf. The form of gambling that made the largest contribution to gambling problems per 14 days of play was casino gambling. The hypothesis that rapid forms of gambling, such as slot machines, would be the most problematic forms of gambling was not upheld. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the training and testing of entry-level commercial motor vehicle drivers

This study examined the effectiveness of 3 different training types on commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers’ skill levels. The training types included a conventional 8-week certified course, a conventional 8-week certified course with approximately 60% of driving time spent in a CMV driving simulator, and a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) test focused short course. Participants’ scores on the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) road and range tests were assessed. In addition to their DMV scores, participants replicated DMV road and range driving tests in an instrumented vehicle and the CMV driving simulator. Results indicated no training group differences in DMV road tests. There were differences between training groups on DMV range tests and real truck and simulator versions of the DMV road and range tests; on these tests conventional- and simulator-trained participants generally scored higher than CDL-focused participants. However, all groups performed higher in the real truck than in the simulator for both road and range tests. These findings indicate the need for a minimum standard of entry-level CMV driver training as well as support of the use of a driving simulator for training entry-level drivers; however, testing using a simulator does not appear to be feasible with current technology.     

Dicationic furans inhibit development of Cryptosporidium parvum in HSD/ICR suckling Swiss mice

The efficacy of dicationic diarylfurans was evaluated against Cryptosporidium parvum by a suckling murine model. Candidate drugs were solubilized or suspended in deionized water and administered orally at a constant dose rate on days 0-5 (treatment day 0) to suckling ICR Swiss mice experimentally inoculated with oocysts of C. parvum. Efficacy was based on numbers of oocysts recovered from the intestinal tracts of mice subjected to necropsy examination on day 6. Numerous candidate furans significantly reduced the numbers of oocysts recovered from treated mice compared with control mice. Compounds 1, 2, 4, and 9 demonstrated superior efficacies (10% of controls or better) against C. parvum. Compounds 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 17, 18, and 19 also significantly reduced the numbers of oocysts recovered from treated mice but demonstrated efficacies ranging from 17 to 65% of controls. Compound 4 was particularly efficacious against C. parvum at a dosage as low as 8.5 mg/kg of body weight. Compound 4 is identified as a lead compound for additional studies in other animal models.     

A new type of DNA minor-groove complex: carbazole dication-DNA interactions

The effect of opportunistic infections (OI) on immune-compromised populations has been known for decades, but the recent AIDS epidemic has sparked renewed interest in the development of new anti-OI agents. The mechanism of action of a series of cationic unfused-aromatic anti-OI drugs is believed to involve binding of the drug to AT sequences in the minor groove of DNA. Some new anti-OI drug candidates have been synthesized with fused aromatic ring systems (e.g. carbazoles) that do not resemble the classical paradigm for minor-groove interactions at AT sequences in DNA. To characterize the DNA interactions of these compounds, we have used UV-vis absorbance, fluorescence, kinetic measurements, and circular dichroism in conjunction with NMR spectroscopy to evaluate the structure of the complexes formed between the carbazoles and DNA. Application of these methods to carbazoles substituted at either the 3,6 or 2,7 positions with cationic imidazoline groups gave conclusive, but very surprising, evidence that both compounds bind strongly in the minor groove at AT DNA sequences. NMR and molecular modeling of the complexes formed between the 3,6- and 2,7-carbazoles and the self-complementary oligomer d(GCGAATTCGC) have been used to establish structural details for the minor-groove complex. These results have been used as constraints for molecular modeling calculations to construct models of the minor-groove-carbazole complexes and to draw conclusions regarding the molecular basis for the effects of substituent position on carbazole-DNA affinities. The surprising result is that the 2,7 carbazole binds in AT sequences with hydrogen bonds involving one imidazoline group and the carbazole NH. The 3,6-carbazole compound binds in a more "classical" model that uses both imidazoline groups for H-bonding while the carbazole NH points out of the minor groove. The carbazoles thus form a new type of DNA minor groove complex and their excellent biological activities indicate that a variety of fused-ring minor-groove binding agents should be investigated.     

Rapid Hydrothermolysis of Poplar Wood: Comparison of Sapwood,Heartwood, Bark,and Isolated Lignin

Abstract

Rapid hydrothermolysis at 350°C of poplar sapwood, heartwood and bark, as well as the lignin extracted from the sapwood and heartwood, gives oil and water soluble fractions whose chemical analysis is correlated with the nature of the feed stock. Results from cellulose and Douglas fir are included, and the poplar bark and heartwood lignin are shown to give an ether soluble oil that consists mainly of guaiacyl units while the sapwood product is mainly syringyl. However, the chloroform soluble oil from both sapwood and heartwood was mainly syringyl with the additional presence of carbohydrate derived material in the heartwood oil. The acetone-only soluble residue from sapwood was shown by pyrolysis mass spectrometry to be mainly cellulose derived while that from heartwood was mainly from lignin. Thus there is a fundamental difference in the behaviour of the poplar sapwood and heartwood that may arise from different distributions of the guaiacyl and syringyl units, and of the binding to the cellulose. The origin of the rapid hydrothermolysis products with respect to the major wood components is discussed. An empirical approach to the calculation of the lignin content based on the rapid hydrothermolysis fractions is presented.     

Comparative efficacy evaluation of dicationic carbazole compounds, nitazoxanide, and paromomycin against Cryptosporidium parvum infections in a neonatal mouse model

The efficacies of dicationic carbazole compounds, nitazoxanide (NTZ), and paromomycin were evaluated against the AUCp1 isolate of Cryptosporidium parvum by using a neonatal mouse model. Compounds were solubilized or suspended in deionized water and administered orally by gavage to neonatal mice at a constant dose rate on days 0 to 5 (treatment started on day 0). Dose rates varied for individual carbazole compounds but ranged from 0.65 to 20 mg/kg of body weight. NTZ was tested at 100 and 150 mg/kg, and paromomycin was tested at 50 mg/kg. Efficacies were determined by comparing numbers of oocysts present in treated versus control mice at necropsy examination on day 6. Demonstrable efficacy was observed for several carbazole compounds, based on significant reductions in the numbers of oocysts recovered from treated mice versus control mice. Compounds 1, 7, and 10 (19.0 mg/kg) reduced oocyst passage in treated mice to less than 5% of that in control mice. Treatment with compounds 6, 8, and 9 (17.0 mg/kg) resulted in reductions of oocyst output to less than 10% of that in controls. Although they were not comparable in efficacy to compounds 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, treatment with other carbazole compounds resulted in statistically significant reductions in oocyst output in treated versus control mice. Compound 1 retained efficacy resulted in reduction of oocyst output to approximately 6% of that in controls when the dose was reduced to 5 mg/kg. Further reductions in the dose rate resulted in considerable reductions in anticryposporidial activity. Likewise, the efficacies of compounds 9 and 10 were reduced substantially when the doses were lowered to one-half the screening dose. Paromomycin yielded excellent activity (reduction of oocyst output to <2% of that in controls) at a dose of 50 mg/kg. NTZ yielded moderate efficacy as powder and injectable formulations administered at 100 mg/kg orally (reduction of oocyst output to 42 and 26% of that in controls, respectively). Oral administration of the injectable formulation of NTZ at a dose of 150 mg/kg resulted in improved efficacy (oocyst output, <5% of that in controls).     

Infrared Absorption Spectrum of Nitrous Oxide (N2O) From 1830 cm?1 to 2270 cm?1

The frequencies of the vibration-rotation spectrum of N₂O have been measured from 1830 cm⁻¹ to 2270 cm⁻¹. A number of weak bands have been measured and assigned to “hot bands’’ and isotopic species in normal abundance. By using the Ritz principle and previously measured bands the bending frequency (v₂) is calculated as 588.78₀ cm⁻¹. Frequencies are given for lines arising from the three principal transitions found in this region.     

Dietary fat effect on incorporation and release of lipids and cholesterol by rat intestinal slices

The effect of saturated and unsaturated fats on in vitro formation and release of lipids and cholesterol from¹⁴C acetate by rat intestinal tissue was investigated. The rats were fed a basal diet enriched with either 25% corn oil or lard and then sacrificed after a 10- or 25-day feeding period. It was observed that a similar¹⁴C lipid content but a greater¹⁴C cholesterol content was found in the intestinal tissue of rats fed corn oil than in rats fed lard for 10 days. After a longer period of feeding of 25 days, the intestinal tissue¹⁴C cholesterol level was decreased in the corn oil fed rats without any significant effect on other lipids. These data suggest that corn oil in some way influences cholesterol biosynthesis depending upon its degree of unsaturation and the period of time for which it is fed. The decrease at the later time might involve some mechanism which aids in getting rid of accumulated tissue cholesterol. Less¹⁴C lipid and¹⁴C cholesterol were released by the intestinal tissue of rats fed the unsaturated fat as compared with those fed the saturated fat, suggesting a possible role in vivo in reducing blood lipids and blood cholesterol levels. Robert A. Welch Foundation.     

Control of glucan-induced systemic granulomatosis by cyclosporine A

This study has shown that cyclosporine A (CyA), under certain conditions, is a powerful inhibitor of intravascular and extravascular monocyte/macrophage accumulation. Experiments were carried out in Lewis rats in which intravenous injection of particulate glucan calls forth a striking granulomatous response in lung, liver, and spleen and produces a marked stimulation of splenic erythro- and myelopoiesis. In agreement with the results of others, there was also a considerable elevation in monocyte/macrophage chemoattractant levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, which is held to be a key reaction in the pathogenesis of the histologic lesions. Treatment of the animals with subcutaneous injections of CyA prevented the rise in the chemoattractant activity and suppressed the granulomatous organ infiltration as well as the splenic hemopoiesis. The findings supply new insights into the activities of CyA and would support its clinical use in macrophage-dominated diseases.     

Parental drinking problems and adolescent offspring substance use: Moderating effects of demographic and familial factors.

Examined the moderating effects of background and demographic factors and current family situation on the relationship between parental drinking problems and adolescent offspring substance use. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a random sample of 818 Black and White adolescents (aged 13–17 yrs) and telephone interviews were completed with 1 primary caregiver. Results revealed that neither paternal nor maternal drinking problems consistently predicted substance use among adolescent offspring; however, chaotic and unsupportive family situations were strongly predictive. Hypothesized moderating effects also were found for gender, age, co-occurring parental psychiatric problems, extended family history of drinking problems, current family structure, and caregiver support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)