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Biomedical subjects

S Chance

Publications and source records attributed to S Chance.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Risk factors for suicide attempts among African American women.

The aim of this study was to examine psychological and interpersonal risk factors for suicidal behavior in low income, African American women; 285 African American women who reported being in a relationship with a partner in the past year were studied, 148 presented to the hospital following a suicide attempt, and 137 presented for general medical care. Cases were compared to controls with respect to psychological symptoms, alcohol and drug abuse, family violence (intimate partner abuse, childhood trauma), relationship discord, and social support. Psychological risk factors for suicide attempts at the univariate level included psychological distress [Crude Odds Ratio (COR) = 6.5], post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (COR = 3.8), hopelessness (COR = 7.7), and drug abuse (COR = 4.2). Interpersonal risk factors at the univariate level included relationship discord (COR = 4.0), physical partner abuse (COR = 2.5), nonphysical partner abuse (COR = 2.8), childhood maltreatment (COR = 3.2), and low levels of social support (COR = 2.6). A multivariate logistic regression model identified four variables that were strongly and independently associated with an increased risk for suicide attempts: psychological distress, hopelessness, drug abuse, and relationship discord. The model predicted suicide attempt status correctly 77% of the time. The results reveal that African American women who report high levels of psychological distress, hopelessness, drug use, and relationship discord should be assessed carefully for suicidal ideation and referred for appropriate mental health care.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Impact of antibody specificity and calibration material on the measure of agreement between methods for cardiac troponin I.

BACKGROUND: Available assays for cardiac troponin I (cTnI) yield numerically different results. The aim of this study was to compare patient values obtained from four cTnI immunoassays. METHODS: We studied the Stratus(R) II assay, the Opus(R) II assay, the Access(R) assay, and a research-only cTnI heterogeneous immunoassay that uses the Dade Behring aca(R) plus immunoassay system equipped with two new noncommercial monoclonal antibodies. Because the aca plus cTnI assay is for research only, we first evaluated and analytically validated it for serum and citrated plasma. Initially, each method was calibrated using the method-specific calibrator supplied by each manufacturer; however, the aca plus cTnI assay was calibrated using patient serum pools containing cTnI and selected on the basis of increased creatine kinase MB isoenzyme and with values assigned by use of the Stratus cTnI assay. For method comparisons, individual patient sample cTnI values were determined and compared with the Stratus II assay. RESULTS: Passing and Bablock regression analysis yielded slopes of 1.44 (r = 0.96; n = 72) for the Opus II vs Stratus II assays; 0.07 (r = 0.91; n = 72) for the Access vs Stratus II assays; and 0.90 (r = 0.91, n = 72) for the aca plus vs Stratus II assays. The recalibration of each method with a Stratus II-assigned serum pool improved, but did not entirely eliminate, the slope differences between the different assays (range, 1.00-1.16). The observed scatter in the correlation curves remained. CONCLUSION: There is a need to further explore the specificities of these assays with respect to the different circulating forms of cTnI.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Factors that mediate and moderate the link between partner abuse and suicidal behavior in African American women.

Findings from a study comparing partner abuse in African American women suicide attempters (n = 148) and nonattempters (n = 137) revealed higher rates of physical and nonphysical partner abuse among attempters than their demographically similar nonsuicidal counterparts. The partner abuse--suicidal behavior link was mediated by psychological distress, hopelessness, and drug use and moderated by social support. Results also revealed that nonphysical partner abuse accounted for unique variance in the prediction of suicide attempt status beyond that attributable to childhood maltreatment. Implications of the findings for assessing both suicidal and abused women are discussed, and recommendations for preventive interventions for women at risk for suicidal behavior are provided.

Adolescent↗

Computerized drug-use evaluation.

A drug-use evaluation (DUE) of angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors by both manual and computerized methods was conducted. Criteria for the use of ACE inhibitors were developed and approved. Fifty patients were randomly selected from 225 clinic outpatients who had begun taking an ACE inhibitor during a six-month period. The clinic medical records of each of the patients were reviewed by a pharmacist to determine compliance with the DUE criteria. At the same time, a computer program queried the computerized medical records of the same patients to evaluate adherence to the criteria. The manual method showed that ACE inhibitor therapy met threshold for two of the six criteria before exceptions were considered and for three criteria after exceptions were considered. Results for only two criteria met threshold when evaluated by the computer; the computer did not consider exceptions. There was good or excellent percent agreement between the manual and computerized methods for four of the six criteria. Kappa values showed that the agreement for five criteria was significant. A computerized method of evaluating drug use performed similarly to manual evaluation, but agreement was best for simply stated criteria.

Angioedema↗

Interleukin 3 and cell cycle progression.

Interleukin 3 (IL-3) is a regulatory glycoprotein required for the proliferation and differentiation of cells from many if not all hemopoietic lineages. With the emergence of the competence-progression model of cell proliferation, which predicts that growth factors function at specific stages of the cell cycle, we examined the possibility that IL-3 functions at a specific stage of the cell cycle. C-63 cells were developed as a cell line from normal murine bone marrow. They have a mast cell phenotype and require pokeweed-stimulated spleen cell-conditioned medium (CM), a rich source of IL-3, for their continued growth. Exponentially growing cells were transferred from growth medium, which contains CM, to medium lacking CM or IL-3. After 24 hours, cell viability had decreased 40-50%. The remaining viable cells did not incorporate 3H-thymidine, and displayed a single peak at G1 in a DNA histogram. Restimulation of these cells with CM or IL-3 resulted in a dramatic rise in 3H-thymidine uptake 20-24 hours after restimulation. DNA histograms of restimulated cultures indicated that the cells were progressing in a wave-like fashion throughout the remainder of the cell cycle. The length of time necessary for cells to be in contact with CM or IL-3 before they could progress into the remainder of the cell cycle was also examined. Cells incubated with CM or IL-3 for less than 16 hours could not progress into S phase, whereas cells incubated for 16 hours or longer could progress into S phase and through the remainder of the cell cycle. These data suggest that IL-3 exerts its function at a specific stage of the cell cycle.

Animals↗