Assessing Children's Mealtime Problems With the Mealtime Behavior Questionnaire

A caregiver questionnaire that assesses mealtime problems in children aged 2 to 6 years old was developed. Community caregivers (n = 712) completed the Mealtime Behavior Questionnaire (MBQ) and measures of child behavior and family mealtime behaviors and environment. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed and validated the MBQ's 4 subscales (food refusal/avoidance; food manipulation; mealtime aggression/distress; and choking/, gagging/vomiting). Mealtime problems occurred from “sometimes” to “always” for 1% to 61% of the sample. The MBQ demonstrated excellent to fair internal consistencies, and preliminary evidence for validity was found.     

Renal Uptake,Excretion, and Retention of Mercury

A modification is proposed for the conventional pH stat assay for human plasma and erythrocyte cholinesterases. Principal advantages for the micromodification are smaller sample size afforded by collection of specimens in microhematocrit tubes and reduction in subsequent sample-handling time. Red blood cell (RBC) washing and recentrifugation steps are eliminated. Although the basic assay procedure remains unchanged, titration parameters are changed to accommodate smaller sample volumes. Results from either assay procedure are comparable, as shown by statistically significant regressions of micromodification assay data upon those of conventional pH stat procedure.     

Women with fibromyalgia: Work and rehabilitation

Purpose.?To explore disability in women with fibromyalgia with a focus on their work situation.

Method.?Review of literature on work status of women with fibromyalgia.

Results.?Major differences exist between studies in reported disability and in the percentages of women working. Limitations caused by pain, fatigue, decreased muscle strength, and endurance influence work capacity. However, 34?–?77% of the women work. Individual adjustments in the work situation are reported. When the women find a level that matches their ability, they continue to work and find satisfaction in their work role. Many factors besides degree of impairment or disability influence whether clients with longstanding pain can remain in their work role or return to work after sickness leave.

Conclusion.?The total life situation, other commitments, type of work tasks, the ability to influence the work situation, and the physical and psychosocial work environment are important factors in determining whether a person can remain in a work role. More knowledge is needed about how to adjust work conditions for people with partial work ability to the benefit of society and the individual.     

Acquired homozygosity of the rearranged bcr allele during the acute leukemic phase of a patient with Ph-negative chronic myeloid leukemia

A 45-year-old male patient with Ph-negative chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) had rearranged bcr-3' and bcr-5' gene regions in Southern blot studies when leukemia was diagnosed. During development of terminal blast crisis, successive blood samples showed a progressive decrease in the amount of germline bcr DNA and its complete loss by full blast crisis. There were also increased amounts of rearranged bcr DNA consistent with acquired homozygosity. A similar result was obtained with an IgV lambda probe and indicated homozygosity of a significant part of chromosome 22. The bcr-abl gene complex behaves as a somatic dominant in CML, and we suggest that its acquired homozygosity is a mechanism of bcr-abl amplification similar to duplication of the Ph chromosome commonly found in the blast crisis of CML.     

The association between hepatitis C infection and survival after orthotopic liver transplantation

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The effect of hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection on patient and allograft survival after orthotopic liver transplantation is controversial. Hepatitis C recurrence after transplant is inevitable, but studies to date have not found a survival difference between recipients with and without HCV. METHODS: Using data from the United Network for Organ Sharing, we performed a retrospective cohort study of 11,036 patients who underwent 11,791 liver transplants between 1992 and 1998. The hazard rates of patient and allograft survival for patients who were HCV-positive as compared with patients who were HCV-negative were assessed by proportional-hazards analysis, with adjustment for potential confounding variables, including donor, recipient, and transplant center characteristics. RESULTS: Liver transplantation in HCV-positive recipients was associated with an increased rate of death (hazard ratio, 1.23; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12-1.35) and allograft failure (hazard ratio, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.21-1.39), as compared with transplantation in HCV-negative recipients. This reduction in survival persisted after adjusting for potential confounders. There was an interaction between HCV and sex (P < 0.001) with the effect of HCV on survival being most pronounced in female recipients (patient survival hazard ratio, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.35-1.81; allograft survival hazard ratio, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.34-1.70). CONCLUSIONS: HCV infection significantly impairs patient and allograft survival after liver transplantation.     

The Role of Serotonin (5-HT) in Behavioral Control: Findings from Animal Research and Clinical Implications

The neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine both have a critical role in the underlying neurobiology of different behaviors. With focus on the interplay between dopamine and serotonin, it has been proposed that dopamine biases behavior towards habitual responding, and with serotonin offsetting this phenomenon and directing the balance toward more flexible, goal-directed responding. The present focus paper stands in close relationship to the publication by Worbe et al. (2015), which deals with the effects of acute tryptophan depletion, a neurodietary physiological method to decrease central nervous serotonin synthesis in humans for a short period of time, on the balance between hypothetical goal-directed and habitual systems. In that research, acute tryptophan depletion challenge administration and a following short-term reduction in central nervous serotonin synthesis were associated with a shift of behavioral performance towards habitual responding, providing further evidence that central nervous serotonin function modulates the balance between goal-directed and stimulus-response habitual systems of behavioral control. In the present focus paper, we discuss the findings by Worbe and colleagues in light of animal experiments as well as clinical implications and discuss potential future avenues for related research.     

The CD11b promoter directs high-level expression of reporter genes in macrophages in transgenic mice [published erratum appears in Blood 1995 Apr 1;85(7):1983]

CD11b is the alpha chain of the Mac-1 integrin and is preferentially expressed in myeloid cells (neutrophils, monocytes, and macrophages). We have previously shown that the CD11b promoter directs cell-type- specific expression in myeloid lines using transient transfection assays. To confirm that these promoter sequences contain the proper regulatory elements for correct myeloid expression of CD11b in vivo, we have used the -1.7-kb human CD11b promoter to direct reporter gene expression in transgenic mice. Stable founder lines were generated with two different reporter genes, a Thy 1.1 surface marker and the Escherichia coli lacZ (beta-galactosidase) gene. Analysis of founders generated with each reporter demonstrated that the CD11b promoter was capable of driving high levels of transgene expression in murine macrophages for the lifetime of the animals. Similar to the endogenous gene, transgene expression was preferentially found in mature monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils and not in myeloid precursors. These experiments indicate that the -1.7 CD11b promoter contains the regulatory elements sufficient for high-level macrophage expression. This promoter should be useful for targeting heterologous gene expression to mature myeloid cells.