Gastric mucosal protection with β-phenylethylamine (PEA) and other sympathomimetic amines against absolute ethanol in the rat

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of -phenylethylamine (PEA), an amphetamine-like compound present in the blood during high stress situations, to protect rat gastric mucosa against absolute ethanol. F-344 rats were pretreated with PEA in saline at several dose levels and at various times prior to oral administration of 1 ml absolute ethanol. PEA at dose levels of 50 and 100 mg/kg significantly reduced the severity of alcohol-induced lesions following oral, but not parenteral, treatment. The duration of protection with PEA was approximately 90 min, with maximum protection observed when PEA was administered 15–30 min before alcohol. Pretreatment with indomethacin did not prevent or reduce the protection induced by PEA. Other sympathomimetic amines such as isoproterenol and ephedrin were similarly cytoprotective against absolute ethanol while amphetamine, phenylephrine, and epinephrine proved ineffective. These results add further support to the role of the sympathetic nervous system in regulating gastric mucosal protection in the rat.     

Familial Transmission of Alcohol Use Norms and Expectancies and Reported Alcohol Use

Members of 183 families (biological parents and one adult offspring) completed questionnaires on their quantity and frequency of alcohol use, what they would consider a "normal" quantity-frequency of alcohol use, "problem" quantity-frequency of use, flushing after alcohol use, and other expected physiological and subjective responses to alcohol. Within individuals, own quantity-frequency of alcohol use was moderately negatively correlated with flushing after one drink or less ("fast flushing"), but more highly positively correlated with judged normal alcohol use and with expected subjective effects. Spouse resemblances were low for quantity-frequency of alcohol use and flushing, but high for alcohol use norms and expected physiological and subjective responses. Parent-offspring resemblances were low to moderate for own alcohol use and flushing, but moderate to high for expected physiological and subjective effects. These results were discussed in terms of the effects of genetically transmitted flushing after alcohol use and culturally transmitted alcohol norms and expectations on alcohol use.     

Resolution of Diabetes Following Vertical Gastroplasty in Morbidly Obese Patients

Case reports are presented on three patients treated for morbid obesity by vertical gastroplasty. Prior to surgery the patients had diabetes which required insulin, up to 200 units per day, or oral hypoglycaemics for its control. Six months after surgery the diabetes had been resolved in all three patients, and they were no longer dependent on medication. Subjective reports from the patients suggests that their quality of life improved significantly.     

Abnormal wall strain at distal end-to-side anastomoses

Cyclic stretch has been demonstrated to induce proliferative and secretory activities by cultured arterial endothelial and smooth muscle cells, cellular processes that contribute to the development of intimal hyperplasia. A model of an end-to-side anastomosis was developed to examine the hypothesis that regions of the artery at such anastomoses are subjected to facally increased cyclic stretch, which may stimulate the development of intimal hyperplasia. Polytetrafluoroethylene grafts were anastomosed end to side to latex rubber tubes that have elastic properties similar to those of the human femoral artery. Pulse waves with physiologic pressure, rate, and contour were applied, and systolic and diastolic diameters were measured in two planes at longitudinal intervals. Circumferential strain imposed on the latex artery was calculated at each interval. Strain imposed perpendicular to the suture line was also measured. Circumferential strain was consistently maximal at a distinct region of the artery along the proximal third of the anatomosis (6.0±1.1% vs. 3.3±0.5% at other regions of the artery). The maximal strain across the suture line was found at precisely the same region (3.9±0.3% vs. 2.0±0.4%). The anastomotic region of the recipient artery in a distal end-to-side anastomosis is subjected to cyclic circumferential strains two times greater than those experienced by the remainder of the artery. This corresponds to a common location of intimal hyperplasia. Such strains may be a stimulus for intimal hyperplasia.Presented at the Seventeenth Annual Meeting of the Peripheral Vascular Surgery Society, June 7, 1992, Chicago, Ill.     

Emergency shelters in Vancouver,Canada

The shelter experiences, employment history, income and social service needs utilization were examined among 124 emergency shelter users in Vancouver, British Columbia. Thirty-six (30.5%) reported this as their first experience with living in a shelter; the length of stay in the present shelter ranged from one to 90 days. Reasons for shelter use included: eviction from last place of residence, loss of job, or suffering from health problems rendering one unable to work. The highest unmet service needs were finding affordable housing and finding a job. This combination of scarcity of low-cost housing, health problems, and difficulty in finding employment have led to a situation where emergency shelters have become extended places of residence, a home to many.Sonia Acorn, RN, PhD is an Associate Professor at the School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.This research was funded by the Mr. and Mrs. P.A. Woodward's Foundation and the Vancouver Foundation.     

A comparison of perinatal mortality between ethnic Chinese and ethnic whites: Why the Chinese rate was lower

Objectives. To confirm the observation that has been occasionally reported in the literature that perinatal mortality rate is lower in ethnic Chinese than in ethnic whites, and to assess the reasons for this lower perinatal mortality rate.

Methods. Secondary‐analysis based on published data.

Results. This exercise demonstrates that the perinatal mortality rate was lower in ethnic Chinese than in ethnic whites. The birth weight distribution in ethnic Chinese was more favourable with reduced births at two extremes of the distribution, and the exposure to risk factors for perinatal death by their mothers was also lower.

Conclusion: Perinatal mortality rate is lower in ethnic Chinese than in ethnic whites, and the lower perinatal mortality rate in ethnic Chinese is probably caused by their favourable birth weight distribution and lower exposure to risk factors of perinatal death by their mothers.     

Achieving hospital operating objectives in the light of patient preferences

Patient satisfaction is becoming increasingly important for the successful operation of private and public hospitals. The quality of the service provided can be improved if internal and external customers' opinions are taken into account during the definition of hospital operating objectives. This research presents a new methodology, called the simulation service quality system (SSQS), developed to improve operating performance measures in the light of customer preferences. The motivation for the development of the SSQS methodology arose from the need to achieve timeliness standards at United States Veterans' Hospitals. The Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital in Columbia Missouri served as the validation and initial application site for the SSQS methodology. Details one such project: the objective of reducing customer waiting times to 30 minutes or less at an outpatient treatment clinic. Through the identification of relationships and interactions, discrete-event simulation techniques are applied to model and experiment with the system to ultimately arrive at recommended changes in hospital operating policies which achieve the objective.     

Inhibition of gastrointestinal motility by MPTP via adrenergic and dopaminergic mechanisms

The neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) was injected intraperitoneally in mice and caused an acute inhibition (of over 60%) of gastrointestinal motility, which was measured by the transit of charcoal. This inhibition was not related to conversion of MPTP to MPP⁺. Administration of the -adrenergic blocker propranolol significantly reduced, but did not completely block, the effect of MPTP. The dopaminergic blocker haloperidol also partly reversed the effects of MPTP. When these blockers were administered together, the action of MPTP was fully blocked. The results indicate that the toxin acted by releasing catecholamines (presumably norepinephrine and dopamine), thereby inhibiting motility.Supported by a grant from the Joint Research Fund of the Hebrew University and Hadassah.