The use of albumin microspheres in the treatment of carrageenan-induced inflammation in the rat.

Free hydrocortisone, hydrocortisone incorporated into microspheres and empty microspheres have been administered orally to rats with carrageenan-induced hindpaw inflammation. Hydrocortisone administered in particles was effective at a lower dose than free steroid in reducing inflammation. Inflammatory exudates were able to release steroid from the microspheres by proteolytic degradation.     

Fibula osteoseptocutaneous flap for mandible reconstruction

The fibula free flap has become an established flap for mandible reconstruction when vascularized bone is desirable. Recreating mandibular contour, providing soft tissue coverage, and restoring masticatory function are equally important in mandible reconstruction, and these can be provided by the fibula osteoseptocutaneous flap. This article is a summary of the anatomy, indications, and operative technique of the fibula osteoseptocutaneous flap accumulated from 49 consecutive mandible reconstructions. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Transformation of immortal, non-tumorigenic osteoblast-like human osteosarcoma cells to the tumorigenic phenotype by nickel sulfate

Epidemiological studies have indirectly linked compounds ofchromium, nickel and arsenic to human carcinogenesis. However,there is no evidence that metal compounds can transform humancells to the tumorigenic phenotype in culture. We show herethat exposure to 36 µM NiS0₄ for 48–96 h resultsin transformation of an immortal, non-tumorigenic, osteoblast-likecell line, HOS TE85, to the tumorigenic phenotype. Continuouspassaging following treatment leads to the formation of a fewdense foci. The cells isolated and expanded from the foci aremorphologically transformed, and form anchorage-independentcolonies of the size and abundance comparable to that formedby Kirsten murine sarcoma virus transformed HOS TE85 cells.The transformed cells from tumors in nude mice, have enhancedlevels of plasminogen activators and have lost the ability toform model bone matrix on extended culture in the presence ofascorbic acid and ß-glycerophosphate. A number ofcell lines have been established from nude mouse tumors. Cytogeneticanalysis reveals 16 marker chromosomes and an aberrant chromosome16. This is the first report of the transformation of a humancell line to tumorigenic phenotype by a metal carcinogen.     

Nurses' Logs as an Evaluation Tool for School-Based Violence Prevention Programs

ABSTRACT: Programs for preventing violence among youth should be evaluated to determine if they are effective. Nurses' logs appear to be a useful tool for evaluating school-based violence prevention programs. The logs provide a record of students' visits to the school nurse that can be used to determine if a violence prevention program is associated with a reduction in fighting—and other injury-related nurse visits. This method has many strengths: it is simple and inexpensive, it does not interrupt the school routine, it permits school-level rather than student-level data collection, it provides a ready "baseline," and it allows continuous data collection. However, potential limitations do exist. For example, the method may provide insufficient information and may be affected by factors unrelated to the intervention. School officials can increase the usefulness of the logs by encouraging standardization and providing training in their use.     

The HK/MBD Questionnaire: Replication and Validation of Distinct Factors in a Nonclinical Sample

Although Tarter et al.'s (1977) HK/MBD questionnaire has been found useful in subtyping populations of clinical alcoholics, its potential utility in nonclinical populations has yet to be determined. The current study examined the family history, personality, and substance use/abuse correlates of Tarter et al.'s HK/MBD questionnaire and factor analytically derived subscales (Alterman and McLellan, 1986) in a nonclinical sample of 580 young, adult males. In addition, a factor analysis of the HK/MBD questionnaire was undertaken to assess the extent to which the factor structure determined on a clinical alcoholic sample replicates in a nonclinical sample. Results indicated that each of the HK/MBD subscales showed relatively unique patterns of correlations with the various personality measures employed suggesting that they are measuring separate constructs. Perhaps of greatest importance, the HK/MBD items that appear to be of greatest relevance for understanding substance use/abuse are those related to antisocial behavior. Finally, the factor structure of the HK/MBD questionnaire in the nonclinical sample was found to be quite similar to the structure obtained in a clinical sample. These results demonstrate the multidimensional structure of the HK/MBD questionnaire and the utility of using the more homogeneous subscales in research with both clinical and nonclinical samples.     

Interviewing skills: self-evaluation by medical students

In an independent learning project, 52 third-year medical students carried out a structured self-assessment of two videotaped psycho-social interviews they had conducted with volunteer clients 1 year earlier, as part of a previous course. The interviews had been conducted in small tutorials with feedback from their clients, fellow students and tutors, facilitated by videotape playback. During the sequence of 16 tutorials each student had carried out an early and a late interview and had observed and participated in the discussion of the interviews of 14 peers. Students were asked to tally the frequencies of various interview behaviours, to evaluate the quality of their behaviours, and to establish priorities for future learning. The videotapes were also reliably rated by an independent observer. Students' overall self-assessments correlated 0.46 with those of the independent observer. This correlation was higher than is typically reported in studies of the validity of self-assessment. In absolute terms, the students' mean rating of interviewing performance was 3.2 (adequate plus) which was significantly lower than the observer's mean of 3.6 (adequate to good). Results are discussed in terms of Gordon's (1992) two recommendations for improving the validity of self-assessments and two further suggestions, for paired comparisons and low-threat learning environments, are added.     

Neurotoxic effects of MDMA (“ecstasy”) administration to neonatal rats

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine damages fine serotonergic fibers and nerve terminals in adult organisms. Developing animals seem to be less susceptible to this effect, possibly due to a lack of drug-induced hyperthermia. We tested this hypothesis by producing hyperthermia in neonatal rats for 2 h after each of twice-daily MDMA (10 mg/kg s.c.) or saline injections administered from postnatal days 1–4. Other drug-treated and control litters were maintained at normothermic temperatures following injection. Changes in forebrain serotonergic innervation were assessed at postnatal day 25 (serotonin transporter binding and serotonin levels), postnatal day 60 (serotonin transporter binding), and 9 months of age (serotonin transporter immunohistochemistry). We also determined the influence of MDMA treatment on apoptotic activity by means of immunohistochemistry for cleaved caspase-3 at postnatal day 5. The hippocampus showed significant MDMA-related reductions in serotonergic markers at postnatal day 25 and postnatal day 60. At 9 months, there was no effect of prior MDMA exposure on serotonin transporter-immunoreactive fiber density in the hippocampus; however, significant reductions in fiber density were observed in two neocortical areas and a hyperinnervation was found in the caudate-putamen and nucleus accumbens shell. MDMA treatment also produced a two-fold increase in the number of cleaved caspase-3-immunoreactive cells in the rostral forebrain and hippocampus. All of these effects were completely independent of pup body temperature. These findings demonstrate that neonatal MDMA administration exposure stimulates apoptotic cell death in various forebrain areas and also leads to a long-term reorganization of the forebrain serotonergic innervation. Consequently, offspring of MDMA-using women may be at heightened risk for abnormal neural and behavioral development.