Reducing gun carrying by youth.
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Adolescent↗
Biomedical subjects
P Ash
Publications and source records attributed to P Ash.
Evaluating undergraduate preclinical operative skill; use of a glance and grade marking system.
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the intra- and inter-examiner variability of a panel of examiners using a 'glance and grade' marking system when assessing Class II preparations. METHODS: The examination panel consisted of five university staff with varying clinical and teaching experience. The panel assessed 75 disto-occlusal preparations suitable for restoration with dental amalgam prepared in extracted human premolar teeth. The majority of the preparations were cut by undergraduates in their preclinical year of study and the remainder by an experienced staff member. The panel were blind to the identity of each operator. RESULTS: The study revealed a high degree of both intra- and inter-examiner variability, with some preparations being given a pass on one occasion and a fail on another and vice-versa. In addition, some of the panel, perhaps assuming that the practical exercise had been prepared entirely by undergraduates, were reluctant to award good grades. CONCLUSIONS: The study has highlighted the need for better staff training and a more comprehensive system of assessing preclinical skills.
Clinical Competence↗
Personal computers in forensic psychiatry.
Because forensic psychiatry is a relatively small field, there are few computer applications designed particularly for it. Forensic psychiatrists use personal computer in many ways that are similar to other psychiatrists, but certain aspects of forensic practice, such as an emphasis on precise reports, regular interactions with attorneys, use of legal databases and materials, and travel, call for utilizing available programs in different ways. Since forensic psychiatry draws on the knowledge of psychiatry, law, and criminology, the World Wide Web has become a particularly useful resource for information. An array of applications and resources of particular interest to forensic psychiatrists are presented. Computer education, "telemedicine," and teleconferencing are still in their infancy in forensic psychiatry, but are likely to increase in use as these technologies mature.
Forensic Psychiatry↗
Forensic child and adolescent psychiatry: a review of the past 10 years.
OBJECTIVE: To review important developments in child and adolescent forensic psychiatry from 1987 through 1996. METHOD: Major changes in the law and developments in research and practice were surveyed in the areas of the legal regulation of psychiatry, family law (divorce and child abuse), consultation to juvenile and criminal courts, civil litigation, and the development of the subspecialty. RESULTS: There has been a large increase in research based on quantifiable descriptive data of forensic populations, although studies using comparison or control groups remain relatively rare. While managed care has heavily influenced treatment practice, legal liability remains largely with the clinician. Issues regarding techniques of evaluation for sexual abuse have been scrutinized by the courts and by researchers. Legislative responses to rising rates of juvenile violence have been in the direction of treating violent adolescent offenders as criminally responsible adults. There has been a major move toward setting standards for forensic evaluations, training, and credentials. CONCLUSIONS: Child and adolescent forensic psychiatry remains an area encompassing diverse clinical issues. It remains unclear the extent to which it will develop into a formal subspecialty.
Adolescent↗
Gun acquisition and use by juvenile offenders.
OBJECTIVES: To learn how, when, where, and why juvenile offenders acquire guns. DESIGN: Following acquisition of informed consent, we conducted semistructured interviews between June and November 1995 with a convenience sample of 63 juvenile offenders aged 13 through 18 years, each of whom was incarcerated at a detention center in metropolitan Atlanta, Ga. SETTING: Five detention centers in metropolitan Atlanta. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Frequency of handgun acquisition and use, age at and method of first handgun acquisition, feelings experienced when carrying guns, development of gun-carrying behavior, drug use, and gang membership. RESULTS: The mean age of respondents was 15.7 years. Forty-one male and 12 female respondents had owned a gun. Eighty-four percent of gun carriers acquired their first gun before the age of 15 years; more than half received their first gun passively, without any specific plan to do so. Adolescents who purposefully obtained their first handgun were more likely to become frequent or constant carriers. Forty percent felt safer and 40% said they felt more energized, excited, or powerful while carrying a gun. However, 34% reported increased anxiety about getting caught. Almost all stated that guns are readily available from a wide range of sources. CONCLUSION: Knowledge of the developmental patterns of gun carrying by delinquent adolescents could be useful in formulating effective strategies to reduce firearm violence.
Adolescent↗
Predictors of returning to work.
An investigation of predictors of returning to work in a sample of physically injured persons who are receiving workers' compensation benefits and vocational rehabilitation is presented. One hundred fourteen injured subjects (86 with back injury; 28, other injury) undergoing vocational rehabilitation and receiving workers' compensation benefits were assessed on demographic, emotional, cognitive, financial incentive, and miscellaneous variables. Predictors for returning to work were identified using stepwise logistic regression. Patients with moderate or severe depression, defined as a score greater than 16 on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), were significantly less likely to return to work following vocational rehabilitation efforts than patients with less severe depression (for back-injured patients, odds ratio (OR) = 31, 95% CI [8.8, 108]). BDI scores correctly classified 84 percent of the back-injury and 86% of the other-injury groups with respect to their return to work. The level of workers' compensation benefit was the only variable that added (marginally) to the predictive power of the BDI. In a physically injured population receiving workers' compensation benefits, who are judged to be not clearly permanently disabled, level of depressive symptoms is a strong predictor of returning to work. Caution is warranted in using the BDI as the sole determinant in a forensic situation for making a real-world prediction, as BDI responses are easy to fake. Treatment of concurrent depression is an important component of helping physically injured workers resume gainful employment.
Accidents, Occupational↗
Secretion of adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) and ACTH precursors in ovine anterior pituitary cells: actions of corticotrophin-releasing hormone, arginine vasopressin and glucocorticoids.
Although corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) have been extensively characterized as stimulators, and glucocorticoids as inhibitors of ACTH secretion, far less is known about the control of the secretion of ACTH precursors from the anterior pituitary or about the types of corticotrophs involved. The present study was designed to systematically evaluate the actions of stimulatory and inhibitory factors on the secretion of ACTH and ACTH precursors (pro-opiomelanocortin, M(r) 31,000; pro-ACTH, M(r) 22,000) from dissociated ovine anterior pituitary cells. The cells were stimulated for 3 h with CRH (10 nmol/l) and AVP (100 nmol/l), alone or in combination with the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone. In designated wells, cells were treated with dexamethasone, (100 nmol/l), beginning 16-18 h before and continuing through the 3-h secretion experiments in the presence of CRH and AVP. Secretion of ACTH-like peptides from intact cultures was compared with that from cultures which had been pretreated with a cytotoxic CRH conjugate (cytotoxin) to eliminate CRH-target cells specifically. Immunoreactive (ir)-ACTH was measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA); ACTH(1-39) and ACTH precursors were specifically measured by two-site immunoradiometric assays that discriminate between the two. In intact populations of cells, dexamethasone had no effect on basal ACTH(1-39) secretion, but decreased the secretion of ACTH(1-39) in response to CRH or AVP. Pretreatment of cells in the same experiments with cytotoxin (for 18 h, beginning 3.5 days before secretion studies) also had no significant effect on basal ACTH(1-39) secretion, but eliminated the response to CRH and decreased the response to AVP.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
Biased reporting by parents undergoing child custody evaluations.
This study tested the hypothesis that a parent undergoing a child custody evaluation will bias his or her report of the children's symptoms in a direction that supports the parent's aim in the litigation. Parents in 196 court-ordered child custody evaluations rated their children using the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist. Additional families undergoing evaluations of visitation disputes (N = 34) and custody/visitation disputes complicated by sexual abuse allegations (N = 15) were used as comparison groups to test alternative explanations of the findings. Results were strongly supportive of the hypothesis that parental bias was present and quantifiable.
Adolescent↗
Interleukin-1 beta and interleukin-1 alpha stimulate the N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase activity of human synovial cells.
The properties of synovial cells are altered in vitro by monocyte-macrophage polypeptides (monokines), and these changes could explain some of the properties of the inflamed synovium in rheumatoid disease. Purified monokines have become available only recently for testing on the target synovial cells. We report here that purified human interleukin (IL)-1 beta and recombinant human IL-1 alpha stimulate the extracellular activity of the lysosomal hydrolase, N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (NAG), of human synovial fibroblast-like cells. In contrast, another monokine, synovial activator, does not increase the NAG activity. Thus NAG is another cellular activity which can be modulated by interleukin-1.
Acetylglucosaminidase↗
The functions of psychiatric evaluation in contested child custody and visitation cases.
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Child↗
Relitigation after contested custody and visitation evaluations.
Relitigation of custody, visitation, and child support during a two-year period was used as a measure of postdivorce adjustment. A sample of highly adversarial families (n = 58) referred for a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation as part of a contested divorce custody or visitation action was compared to control samples of mother custody (n = 43), father custody (n = 30), and joint custody (n = 54) families in which custody was not contested. Nineteen percent of adversarial families evaluated predivorce relitigated custody, a significantly higher rate than control families. Mother custody cases had a higher rate of relitigation over child support than did father or joint custody arrangements. Joint custody controls had approximately the same rate of relitigation of custody as did father custody and mother custody controls. A sample of families referred for evaluation of a postdivorce custody or visitation dispute (n = 46) had a higher rate of relitigation of problems regarding visitation than did a control sample of postdivorce families (n = 36). Possible explanations for these findings are discussed.
Adolescent↗
Neutralization kinetic analysis of echovirus 30 and coxsackievirus B4 strains revealed little antigenic variation amongst the echovirus strains.
An antigenic analysis was made of echovirus 30 and coxsackievirus B4 isolates by determining neutralization rate constants in neutralization kinetic tests. The seven echovirus 30 isolates included the prototype strain and six others isolated in Melbourne, Australia, between 1959 and 1982. Little antigenic heterogeneity was observed in contrast to the evidence of antigenic variation recorded in similar tests on seven coxsackievirus B4 isolates. These isolates also included the prototype strain, as well as six others isolated in Melbourne between 1958 and 1973. The results obtained with the coxsackievirus B4 isolates were in keeping with those observed particularly with the polioviruses and also coxsackievirus B4 by other workers. Those obtained with the echovirus 30 isolates were unexpected, as this virus is also a member of the enterovirus group.
Antigens, Viral↗
Free radical mediation of the effects of acidosis on calcium transport by cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum in whole heart homogenates.
Generation of oxygen free radicals by xanthine acting on xanthine oxidase as a substrate significantly depressed calcium transport by sarcoplasmic reticulum in canine whole heart homogenates at 37 degrees C. At pH 7.0, this effect was completely inhibited by the addition of superoxide dismutase (SOD), a scavenger of the superoxide anion radical. At pH 6.4, SOD (5 to 20 micrograms X ml-1) was ineffective but catalase (20 micrograms X ml-1) was able to inhibit the effects of the xanthine-xanthine oxidase system. SOD + catalase (20 micrograms X ml-1) and SOD + mannitol, a scavenger of the hydroxyl free radical, inhibited the effects of the xanthine-xanthine oxidase system at pH 6.4. Preincubation at pH 6.4, in the absence of an exogenous free radical generating system, depressed calcium transport. This depression was more severe the longer the duration of incubation. However, return of the pH to 7.0 after preincubation at pH 6.4 partially restored calcium uptake velocity. The degree of reversibility was decreased the longer the period of incubation at pH 6.4. SOD reversed the effects of incubation at pH 6.4 for 5 min, but not those for incubations of 10 and 15 min. Mannitol alone was ineffective. The combinations of SOD and mannitol significantly reversed the effects of pH 6.4 up to 15 min. These results demonstrate that both exogenously generated and endogenously generated free oxygen radicals are capable of depressing calcium transport by cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum in the whole heart homogenate in the presence of endogenous scavenging systems.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Acidosis↗
Court implementation of mental health professionals' recommendations in contested child custody and visitation cases.
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Adult↗
Involuntary abandonment: infants of imprisoned parents.
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Adult↗
Surface activity of polypeptide toxins isolated from Anemonia sulcata.
Circular dichroism spectra and surface activities are reported for toxins II and III isolated from Anemonia sulcata. Toxin II is highly surface active and as a result possesses a synergistic effect with phospholipase A2. In complete contrast, toxin III lacks detectable surface activity. The presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (2.5 mg.ml-1) failed to trigger large conformation changes in both toxins II and III. From a comparison of the sequences of toxins II and III it is suggested that the hydrophobic region 17-27 is responsible for the surface activity of toxin II.
Animals↗
Osteoclasts derived from haematopoietic stem cells.
The origins of the multinucleated osteoclast have been controversial, with osteogenic precursors and haematopoietic stem cells as candidates. Recent evidence for the latter is persuasive but circumstantial. We report here direct evidence obtained in radiation chimaeras from a natural cytoplasmic cell marker transmitted by the donated haematopoietic stem cell.
Animals↗
Giant lysosomes, a cytoplasmic marker in osteoclasts of beige mice.
The beige mouse (bg/bg) is an analogue of the Chediak-Higashi syndrome (CHS) in man. The disorder is characterised by the presence of enlarged cytoplasmic granules, said to be lysosomes, in many cell types. The present report describes giant lysosomes defined as lysosomes greater than 1.0 micrometers in diameter, in osteoclasts of beige mice. The giant lysosomes contained both acid phosphatase and aryl sulphatase and were present in osteoclasts of beige mice aged from at least 4 days to 3 months. There is some evidence that the giant lysosomes form by fusion of smaller structures. Since giant lysosomes were also seen in osteoclasts from mouse strains not suffering from CHS, e.g., CBA mice, a quantitative survey was carried out. It was shown that osteoclasts from beige mice aged from 4 days to 3 months contain significantly increased numbers of giant lysosomes when compared with osteoclasts from CBA mice and CBAXbg/bg F1 hybrids. The giant lysosomes of the beige mouse osteoclast are currently being used as cytoplasmic markers in experiments on the cell of origin of the osteoclast.
Acid Phosphatase↗