Factors affecting the experiences of drug use by adolescents in a Bangkok slum

The purpose of this research was to study the demography, financial status, social status, knowledge of amphetamines, perceived harmfulness of amphetamines, and life skills in the prevention of drug abuse in adolescents. The factors leading to drug use among young people were also studied. The study group was composed of 354 subjects aged 12 to 22 years, living in 2 slums in Bangkok. The research showed that about 7% of the sample group had used drugs before. Four percent had never used drugs, but someone had tried to talk them into using them. Almost 20% had friends who had used drugs, and 11% had friends who were still using drugs. About 13% of the adolescents in the study group had family members who used drugs and another 9% had family members who were still using drugs. In our study, we found that the most common drug group was amphetamines. On average, the participants had a low level of understanding about drug abuse, especially of the symptoms, side effects, and legal penalties. Most of the adolescents realized how harmful amphetamines and other drugs were and had a high degree life skills. Factors influencing adolescent drug use were (1) personal factors, such as monthly income/allowance and life skills; (2) family environment, such as drug abuse history in the family; and (3) social environment, such as a drug abuse history among friends. When studying the life skill factors of the adolescents, which is an independent factor capable of influencing the experience with drugs, the researchers found that the time spent with other members of the family and the family members' drug experiences were the only factors leading to life skills in the prevention of drug abuse in adolescents. In addition to letting children learn on their own, training them to acquire life skills is beneficial when faced with problematic situations. Creating relationships between adolescents and other members of the family, friends, and society can increase their life skills, diminishing the risk of drug abuse.     

Clinical results of contralateral C7 root neurotization to the median nerve in brachial plexus injuries with total root avulsions

This prospective study was carried out to assess motor and sensory recovery after contralateral C7 root to median nerve neurotization in brachial plexus injuries with total root avulsions. The survey was carried out from 1993 to 1995 and the patients were followed up for at least 3 years. There were 96 male patients with ages ranging from 13 to 48 years. All had a unilateral brachial plexus injury with avulsion of all roots. This was confirmed by clinical assessment and exploration. The anterior part of the contralateral C7 root was used for neurotization via a reversed pedicular ulnar nerve graft and the proximal end of the graft was connected to the median nerve. Furthermore, phrenic nerve to suprascapular nerve and spinal accessory nerve (via a sural nerve graft) to musculocutaneous nerve neurotizations were also carried out to obtain shoulder abduction and elbow flexion. At the 3 year follow-up, most patients had encouraging recovery of sensory function in the hand but motor function of the forearm and hand muscles was rather poor. Acceptable motor function was found in only 50 to 60% of the patients who were younger than 18 years.     

Social Intelligence Counseling Intervention to Reduce Bullying Behaviors Among Thai Lower Secondary School Students: A Mixed-method Study

ObjectivesTo develop and investigate the effectiveness of an integrative counseling intervention for enhancing social intelligence and reducing bullying behaviors among lower secondary school students in Bangkok, Thailand.MethodsAn interventional mixed-method design was employed in 2 phases. Phase 1 involved the development of a qualitative method-based integrative counseling program from key informants using the eclecticism technique. In phase 2, a randomized controlled trial with a wait-list control was conducted and qualitative research was performed with students who demonstrated bullying behaviors. Demographic data, Social Intelligence Scale (SIS) scores, and Bullying-Behavior Scale (BBS) scores were collected at baseline. Changes in SIS scores and qualitative findings obtained from in-depth interviews were examined after counseling ended, and BBS scores were collected again 1 month later.ResultsThe developed social intelligence counseling program included eight 1-hour weekly sessions consisting of 3 components: (1) social awareness, (2) social information processing, and (3) social skills. After receiving this intervention, scores for the SIS overall (p<0.001) and all of its components (p<0.05) were significantly enhanced in the experimental group compared to the control group. Moreover, the mean BBS scores in the experimental group significantly decreased 1 month after counseling (p=0.001). With regard to the qualitative research results, the experimental students demonstrated improvements in all components of social intelligence.ConclusionsThe results indicated that a preventive counseling program may enhance social intelligence, decrease bullying behaviors among lower secondary school students, and prevent further incidents of school violence. However, further studies in various population subgroups should also be performed.     

Peripherin- and CGRP-immunoreactive nerve fibers in rat molars have different locations and developmental timing

Developing rat molars gain mature sensitivity to electric stimulation at 4-5 weeks after eruption, but the related mechanisms are incompletely understood. Preliminary studies showed weak co-localization of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) immunoreactivity (IR) with peripherin (PER) or neurofilament protein (NF) in rat molar nerve fibers, while the latter two co-localized extensively. OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to compare timing and location of PER-IR and CGRP-IR innervation in rat first molars during tooth maturation. METHODS: We used single and double immunocytochemistry to study molars of rats aged 10 days to 1 year. Neural patterns were compared with odontoblast maturation stages, dentinogenesis, formation of cell-free and cell-rich zones, and root closure. RESULTS: Spatial and temporal patterns showed that most CGRP-IR and PER-IR have different terminal domains in teeth. PER-IR fibers were well established among immature odontoblasts prior to tooth eruption, but CGRP-IR fibers were absent. Two weeks after eruption of first molars, many CGRP-IR beaded fibers entered dentin, the larger PER-IR fibers began shifting away from odontoblasts towards the pulp, and the symmetrical PER-IR pulpal pattern was being established. The CGRP-IR fibers continued to increase their asymmetric dentinal innervation until root growth was completed, during which time odontoblasts matured, the cell-free and cell-rich zones appeared, and roots closed. CONCLUSIONS: Sensory maturation of rat molars coincides with closed root apices, extensive innervation of dentin by CGRP-IR nerve fibers, and the appearance of the mature avascular odontoblast layer next to cell-free and cell-rich zones in the pulp horns.     

Road traffic injury in Thailand：systematically underestimated？

Road traffic injury is the fifth leading cause of death and disability in Thailand,with an estimated one million people seriously injured and 14000 deaths each year.Given the magnitude of the problem,it is important to validate road traffic injury statistics,in order to determine trends and the effect of prevention efforts.The Ministry of Public Health established an injury surveillance system in 1995 to collect injury data from 4 provincial hospitals and one hospital in Bangkok.This system was designed to evaluate the quality of acute trauma care and referral services,and to improve injury prevention and control at local and national level.However,many injuries are not treated at health facilities where these data are collected.This is the first study to measure the reporting gap for injury statistics on a national level.We compared data from the Thai National Injury Survey to that gathered by the injury surveillance system and find that the former records a rate 3 times higher than the hospital-based injury surveillance system in all five regions(mean injury incidence:596/100000 vs 129/100000).Most injuries that need medical care are not treated in hospital,and do not count in the national statistics in Thailand.     

Albumin Microspheres as a Drug Delivery System: Relation Among Turbidity Ratio,Degree of Cross-linking,and Drug Release

The degree of cross-linking of albumin microspheres, with and without drug, was assessed using turbidity measurements carried out in the presence of water and the protein denaturant guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl) at a concentration that disrupted noncovalent bonds while having no effect on covalent bonds. The measurements allowed calculation of a turbidity ratio (T _G/T _W), expressed as the ratio of the turbidity of albumin microspheres in 6 M GuHCl (T _G) divided by that in water (T _w). A linear relation existed between T _G/T _W and the (i) temperature at which the microspheres were prepared, (ii) concentration of the cross-linking agent glutaraldehyde, and (iii) time of exposure to a second cross-linking agent, formaldehyde vapor, three conditions that increase the degree of cross-linking. The turbidity ratio also increased as the concentration of the albumin solution used to prepare the microspheres increased from 25 to 50%. Drug release from the microspheres consisted of an initial, rapid, burst followed by a second, slower, phase. The rates in both release phases were inversely related to the turbidity ratio, suggesting that this parameter has utility as an indicator of the degree of cross-linking in albumin microspheres.     

Chain conformation in linear polyethylene and paraffins defined by four NMR-components

A systematic investigation of a series of nuclear magnetic resonance spectra (NMR) of differently treated polyethylene (PE) and paraffin samples, indicates that all observed spectra can be analysed unequivocally as the sum of four standard functions which are attributed to four components, α, β₁, β₂, and γ, of increasing proton mobility. In some spectra most of the components are clearly separated from each other. The shape of their derivatives is therefore directly measurable and symmetric for the α-component. For β₁ the derivative is that of a Gaussian and for γ that of a Lorentzian function. β₂ alone is not directly observable but appears as a remainder in the spectra of melt-crystallized PE. It exhibits the shape of the derivative of a Lorentzian function, too. The basic hypothesis is that each of these four components maintains his characteristic shape even if they overlap each other. The line widths ΔH are: 13,2 to 17,9 Gauß (1 Gauß = 10^?4Vs m^?2), 3,0 to 6,0 Gauß, 0,85 to 1,2 Gauß, and 0,04 to 0,18 Gauß, depending on the history of the sample. The α-component is assigned to protons in the microparacrystalline phase (regular backfolding included), fixed chain ends and tight tie-molecules. In hotstretched PE the latter enlarge the α-component by 4% without changing the “crystallinity” measured by the density. γ is assigned to longer chain ends undergoing micro-Brownian motion. The more regular the lamella surface, the smaller is the contribution to the β₁ and β₂ component. So-called single crystals of PE e.g. have only 0,02% γ, which increases during melt-crystallization to ca. 0,1% (sample MPE 5). Its extremely high value of 0,4% in all drawn samples (DPE) is attributed to an enlarged number of longer mobile endsegments generated by chain scission. β₁ is attributed to less mobile chain ends, chains in lateral grain boundaries, defects within the paracrystals, chainfolds and tie-molecules in the “amorphous” parts which are of great importance for the mechanical properties. If the component β₁ e.g. is smaller than 15%, melt-crystallized PE (MPE) is always brittle. When the melt is stirred, β₁ in the MPE reaches values up to 19%. The tensile strength then is larger. In extended chain crystals (ECC) β₁ is reduced to about 10% of the MPE-value. This may indicate that about 10% of the ECC still have the folded structure. This is underlined by the fact that MPE alone has a remarkable β₂-component from segments more mobile than β₁ which is reduced also to about 10% in ECC. The β₂-component is attributed to loose loops and loose connecting molecules, which connect neighbouring paracrystals.     

Effects of potassium ions on dentine sensitivity in man

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of applying 500 mmol/l KCl at a pressure of 150 mm Hg above atmospheric to exposed dentine on pain sensation evoked by probing and air blast stimuli in human subjects. DESIGN: The experiments were carried out on 14 pairs of premolars in 14 human subjects (aged 17-30 years). Dentine was exposed at the tip of the buccal cusp, etched with acid and covered with saline, then 500 mmol/l KCl in Ringer's was applied at a pressure of 150 mm Hg for 4 min. Mechanical probing and air-drying stimuli were performed before and 2, 10, 20, 30 min after applying the KCl solution. The subject indicated the intensity of any pain produced on a visual analogue scale (VAS). Pulpal blood flow was recorded with a laser Doppler flow meter. Exactly the same procedure was carried out on the contralateral tooth except that 500 mmol/l NaCl in Ringer's was used in place of the KCl solution. RESULTS: The pain responses to mechanical probing and air blast stimuli were significantly reduced during the first 10 min after applying the KCl but not the NaCl solution. Pulpal blood flow did not change significantly after either treatment. CONCLUSION: Potassium ions, when applied to exposed dentine at a pressure of 150 mm Hg above atmospheric, produced temporary block of impulse conduction in sensory nerve endings in the dentine or pulp.