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Biomedical subjects

R G Carlson

Publications and source records attributed to R G Carlson.

102 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

The crack life: an ethnographic overview of crack use and sexual behavior among African-Americans in a midwest metropolitan city.

The use of crack cocaine and its associations with high-risk sexual behavior in view of the AIDS epidemic is reported commonly for major East and West Coast urban centers. This article describes and analyzes ethnographic data on crack use in Dayton, Ohio, a small midwestern city of less than 200,000 people. The results of 15 tape-recorded interviews are employed to sketch the basic outlines of crack use among African-Americans. A major focus is placed on analyzing the characteristics of the exchange of crack for sexual favors. High-risk behaviors for the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases are explored.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Injection drug users in the Midwest: an epidemiologic comparison of drug use patterns in four Ohio cities.

Variations in the drug use patterns of injection drug users (IDUs) can have important implications for public health efforts aimed at reducing drug abuse and the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus. This article describes and compares the characteristics of IDUs living in four Ohio cities and compares African-American and White IDUs at a statewide level. Data from 2,001 IDUs who were recruited for the National AIDS Demonstration Research project between 1989 and 1991 in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Dayton were compared on a number of variables by city and by ethnicity using descriptive statistics and ANCOVA analysis. Significant differences among IDUs in the four cities exist for the use of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, crack, heroin, speedball, other opioids, shooting gallery use, "safer" needle practices, treatment history, and self-help participation. Differences by ethnicity emerged on all variables except marijuana use, overall injection frequency, and incarceration experience. The results suggest that dramatic differences exist between African-American and White IDUs, and among IDUs in cities relatively close together, regardless of ethnicity. These findings should be considered when developing policy and programs for prevention and treatment activities targeting IDUs.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

HIV needle risk behaviors and drug use: a comparison of crack-smoking and nonsmoking injection drug users in Ohio.

This study compares the drug use and needle risk behaviors among 733 crack-smoking injection drug users (IDUs) and 518 nonsmoking IDUs. Participants were recruited in Dayton and Columbus, Ohio, for the Cooperative Agreement for AIDS Community-Based Outreach/Intervention Research Program from 1992 to 1996. Crack-smoking IDUs were more likely to be male, African-American, and 30 to 40 years of age, but less likely to be married or living with a sex partner compared to nonsmokers. Daily crack users were less likely to be daily injectors but more likely to use alcohol daily when compared to non-crack users and less-than-daily crack smokers. IDUs who smoked crack less than daily were more likely to have injected with needles and syringes used by others. There is an urgent need for additional research on the relationship between drug injection and crack smoking as well as improved HIV risk-reduction interventions that include drug abuse treatment components focusing on issues surrounding crack-cocaine addiction.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A comparison of total body water analyses: bioelectric impedance analysis versus the tritiated water method.

Bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) is used to measure the body composition and total body water of normal subjects. The purpose of this study was to determine if the hydration of patients with burns could be assessed by BIA. Assessments of total body water as determined by BIA and the tritiated water method were prospectively compared. The 2 analyses were performed 48 hours after admission for 5 patients with acute burns to determine the correlation of the 2 methods. The patients had a mean age of 36.4+/-14.7 years (range, 20-56 years), a mean burn size of 39.4%+/-15.9% of the body surface area (range, 23%-65%), and a mean full-thickness burn size of 27.7% of the body surface area. The total body water was measured on admission and again at 48 hours postburn. There is an excellent relationship between BIA and tritiated-water-method determinations of the total body water of patients with severe burns (r = 0.958). This correlation suggests that BIA provides an accurate measure of total body water, and so it is a reliable means of monitoring fluid resuscitation in patients with burns.

Adult↗
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High-risk behaviors for transmission of syphilis and human immunodeficiency virus among crack cocaine-using women. A case study from the Midwest.

This study examines the drug use patterns, sexual practices, condom use, knowledge and attitudes toward sexually transmitted diseases (STD)s and AIDS, and seroprevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and syphilis among women who use crack in Dayton, Ohio. In 1990, two indigenous outreach workers recruited 150 participants who were not in drug treatment programs, who were 18 years of age or older, and had used crack in the previous 3 months. Structured interviews revealed that 90% of the sample were black, 78% used crack "daily," 93% had multiple sexual partners, and 49% had 10 or more male sexual partners in the last 3 months. A majority (67%) of the women felt they were in need of drug treatment. No reactive syphilis serologies were detected in 138 serum samples; 2 women (1.4%) were HIV seropositive. This case study provides insight into the high-risk sexual behaviors of crack users in a medium-sized, midwestern city. The study demonstrates the value of indigenous outreach prevention and STD screening initiatives in reaching this segment of our society, which has a high risk of acquiring STDs.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

History of sexually transmitted diseases infection, drug-sex behaviors, and the use of condoms among midwestern users of injection drugs and crack cocaine.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study describes self-reported histories of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) with respect to gender and ethnicity and examines the factors that influence the use of condoms among heterosexual users of injection drugs and/or crack cocaine. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional design was used to interview 1046 active users of illicit drugs living in Columbus and Dayton, Ohio. RESULTS: STD was common among 29% of the white men, 53.6% of the black men, 55.9% of the white women, and 64.7% of the black women self-reporting previous infection. Among women, stepwise logistic regression showed that cohabitating with a spouse or a sex partner (OR 0.28; 95% CI, 0.06 to 0.77) and exchanging sex for drugs (OR 0.31; 95% CI, 0.11 to 0.88) were associated negatively with always using a condom during vaginal sex in the previous month, whereas exchanging sex for money (OR 4.48; 95% CI, 1.88 to 10.95) was associated positively. Among men, cohabitating with a spouse or a sex partner (OR 0.13; 95% CI, 0.06 to 0.31), having had an STD (OR 0.53; 95% CI, 0.33 to 0.85), and currently using injection drugs (OR 0.52; 95% CI, 0.33 to 0.84) were associated negatively with condom use. CONCLUSIONS: Users of illicit drugs are at high risk for the acquisition and transmission of STD. More research is needed to understand better the sex practices of users of injection drugs and crack cocaine so that appropriate interventions can be developed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Catalytic antibodies for complex reactions: hapten design and the importance of screening for catalysis in the generation of catalytic antibodies for the NDA/CN reaction.

Success in generating catalytic antibodies as enzyme mimics lies in the strategic design of the transition-state analog (TSA) for the reaction of interest, and careful development of screening processes for the selection of antibodies that are catalysts. Typically, the choice of TSA structure is straightforward, and the criterion for selection in screening is often binding of the TSA to the antibody in a microtiter-plate assay. This article emphasizes the problems of TSA design in complex reactions and the importance of selecting antibodies on the basis of catalysis as well as binding to the TSA. The target reaction is the derivatization of primary amines with naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde (NDA) in the presence of cyanide ion. The desired outcome is selective catalysis of formation of the fluorescent derivative in preference to nonfluorescent side-products. In the study, TSA design was directed toward the reaction branch leading to the fluorescent product. Here, we describe a microtiter plate-based assay that is capable of detecting antibodies showing catalytic activity at an early stage. Of the antibodies selected, 36% showed no appreciable binding to any of the substrates tested, but did show catalytic activity in derivatizing one or more of the amino acids screened. In contrast, only two out of 77 clones that showed binding did not show catalysis. Thus, in this complex system, observation of binding is a good predictor of the presence of catalytic activity, and failure to observe binding is a poor predictor of the absence of catalytic activity.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Differences in drug use among rural and suburban high school students in Ohio.

This exploratory study examines differences in the prevalence of drug use by gender among twelfth grade students (n = 464) in selected rural and suburban high schools in west-central Ohio. The lifetime use of alcohol and other drugs is common among all groups. Proportionally fewer boys in rural schools than boys in suburban schools reported the use of marijuana, inhalants, and LSD, or recent episodes of drunkenness. No statistically significant differences emerged between girls in rural and suburban schools. Afterschool employment practices may help explain the observed differences.

Adolescent↗