Psychosocial Factors and Prediction of Headaches in College Adults

The current study evaluated psychosocial variables that may contribute to the experience of headache in college adults. One hundred ninety-nine participants, 103 women and 96 men, completed head pain logs for 4 weeks after completing measures assessing psychosocial variables. Multiple regression analyses indicated that level of emotional functioning, perception of stress, and gender were predictive of future headache frequency, intensity, and duration. Family history and health habits did not predict headache activity. These findings are consistent with research investigating psychosocial variables and headache activity.     

Growth and invasion of human melanomas in human skin grafted to immunodeficient mice.

An orthotopic model of human melanoma was developed in which malignant cells were injected into human skin grafted to nude and SCID mice. Melanoma cells proliferated and invaded the human skin grafts with characteristic patterns. Three of six melanomas grew as multiple nodules and infiltered the grafts without major architectural changes in the dermis, whereas the others invaded the dermis along collagen fibers with prominent endothelial vessels. By contrast, melanoma cells inoculated into mouse skin grew as diffusely expanding nodules that did not invade the murine dermis. In human skin grafts, human melanoma cells were angiogenic for human blood vessels, and murine vessels were only found at the periphery of grafts. Tumor cells invaded the human vessels, and four out of seven cell lines metastasized to lungs, suggesting that this model is useful to determine in vivo the interactions between normal and malignant human cells.     

Phase II study of 10-ethyl-10-deaza-aminopterin (10-EdAM; CGP 30 694) for stage IIIB or IV non-small cell lung cancer

Summary Thirty-one patients with stage IIIB or IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were treated with intravenous 10-EdAM on a weekly basis. The starting dose was 80 mg/m², with subsequent doses adjusted depending on evidence of toxicity. There were 20 men and 11 women with a median age of 58 years (range, 33–75). Response was evaluated in 30 patients, 5 with evaluable but not measurable tumors and 25 with measurable indicator lesions. There were no complete remissions; 3 patients achieved partial remission. Nine patients had a minor response, 6 showed no change, and 12 had progressive disease. Median survival for all 31 patients was 43 weeks (range, 12–65+). During the first 3-week period, the 10-EdAM dose was reduced or withheld in 19 patients (because of stomatitis in 12, SGPT elevation in 3, skin rash in 2, and granulocytopenia in 2), escalated in 11 patients, and unchanged in 1 patient. A mean of 34–88 mg/m²of 10-EdAM (median, 50) was given per week during the first 5-week period. Myelotoxicity was infrequent and there was no significant nephrotoxicity. Considering the modest side effects of this treatment and the conservative dose-modification schedule which mandated substantial dose reductions, we conclude that 10-EdAM is a promising antitumor agent for NSCLC.     

Method for quantification of brain, ventricular, and subarachnoid CSF volumes from MR images.

We describe a simple, rapid, and semiautomated method of MR analysis based on mathematical modeling of MR pixel intensity histograms. The method is shown to be accurate and reliable for regional analysis of brain, central, and subarachnoid CSF volumes. Application of the method to five young and six older subjects revealed significant age-related changes in regional brain volumes whereas no difference was found for traced central CSF volumes or subarachnoid CSF volumes. We conclude that this is a simple method that can be applied to further studies of quantification of brain structure in healthy aging and brain disease.     

Immunogenicity of four Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccines in 17- to 19-month-old children

OBJECTIVE: To compare the immunogenicity of four Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccines in different populations of 17- to 19-month-old children in the United States. DESIGN: Four immunogenicity trials with sera were assayed in one laboratory. Trials 1 and 2 each compared one vaccine in two regions, and trials 3 and 4 were randomized comparisons of multiple vaccines within a region. SUBJECTS: A convenience sample of 313 healthy children recruited from pediatric practices in Minneapolis, Minn., Dallas and Houston, Tex., and Sellersville, Pa. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Children with prevaccination antibody greater than 0.15 microgram/ml showed higher antibody responses to vaccination than children with less than or equal to 0.15 microgram/ml (p less than 0.001). Among the former, there were no significant differences in antibody response to vaccination with the different conjugates within any of the trials. Among children with less than or equal to 0.15 microgram/ml of antibody before vaccination, there were no significant differences in the geometric mean antibody responses of children in trial 1 vaccinated with polyribosylribitol phosphate-diphtheria toxoid (PRP-D) in Dallas or in Minneapolis, or of children in trial 3 in Dallas randomly assigned to receive Hib oligosaccharide-CRM197 (HbOC) or PRP-D. In contrast, in trial 2, children given PRP-tetanus toxoid (PRP-T) in Pennsylvania had a significantly higher geometric mean antibody response than children given PRP-T in Houston (13.5 vs 3.0 micrograms/ml; p = 0.005). In trial 4 in Minneapolis, the geometric mean antibody response was highest in children randomly assigned to receive PRP-outer membrane protein (OMP) (9.3 micrograms/ml), followed by PRP-D (5.0 micrograms/ml) and HbOC (2.3 micrograms/ml) (PRP-OMP vs HbOC; p = 0.005). In all four trials, IgG1 responses predominated compared with IgG2 responses. CONCLUSIONS: All four conjugate vaccines are immunogenic in children 17 to 19 months of age. However, the magnitude of the anticapsular antibody response varied by vaccine type, the level of antibody in prevaccination sera, and geographic location.     

Recommendations for educational reform in the United States

This article suggests that the United States educational system needs significant changes. The goal of the article is to present a basic educational philosophy that would facilitate this reform. Specifically, education should be viewed as not only a means to an end that teaches basic skills for employment, but also as a process that enhances social development and self-actualization. Recommendations are offered to achieve this important goal.