Victimization among homeless women: Implications for service delivery

This article focuses on the experience of victimization among a representative sample of 141 homeless women interviewed in a single-adult shelter in New York City. The frequency of victimization experiences, specifically aggressive sexual and physical assault, was high. Twenty-one women reported being raped, 42 women reported both rape and physical abuse, and 62 women reported physical abuse without sexual abuse. Shelter women reporting frequent experiences were likely to experience high levels of depressive symptoms; psychotic symptoms; and hospitalization for psychiatric, medical, alcohol, and drug problems. These results further indicate that assault experiences cluster in specific ways and are associated with different clinical outcomes. These findings are seen as underscoring the need for service delivery programs to respond to the experience of vicitimization among homeless women and suggest some future research directions.     

Factors affecting the use of medical, mental health, alcohol, and drug treatment services by homeless adults

This study describes use of medical, mental health, alcohol, and drug services by 832 adult residents of the New York City homeless shelter system and examines associations between service use during the past three months and an array of predisposing, enabling, and need factors. Utilization rates were 23% for medical services, 13% for mental health services, and 10 and 7.5% for alcohol and drug treatment services, respectively. Service contacts were more often hospitals than ambulatory care clinics. Logistic regression analyses revealed that need factors were stronger predictors of all four types of service use. Predisposing factors other than education and black ethnic status were not significant, and the enabling factor of enrollment in Medicaid and/or Medicare was significant only for use of medical and drug services. Among the need factors, measures of mental health status were analyzed as indices of distress to test a stress-utilization model of prediction for all four types of service use. While these measures did not predict use of nonmental health services, physical health problems were associated with use of all four types of services. Implications for future health services research and for service delivery to the homeless are discussed, including the need for more information on availability of services and on psychosocial and cultural characteristics of homeless persons that may affect their help-seeking behavior.     

Detection of Antibodies in Human Sera to Streptococcal Groups A and C Carbohydrates by a Radioimmunoassay

The human lymphokine, leucocyte migration-inhibitory factor (LIF), appears to be a serine esterase and protease by virtue of its susceptibility to the irreversible enzyme inhibitor, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), and by the ability of arginine esters and amides to protect LIF against PMSF-induced inactivation. In this paper, three methods are described by which putative substrates for LIF may be investigated. Thus, molecules satisfying the substrate specificities of this lymphokine should (1) protect LIF against inactivation by PMSF, (2) reduce LIF activity in vitro on polymorphonuclear leucocytes, and (3) reduce the esterolytic activity of purified LIF-rich supernatants. The first two reactions were tested by means of the leucocyte migration agarose technique; the third reaction was tested by a sensitive enzyme assay using tritiated tosyl arginine methyl ester as substrate. Guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphoric acid, which is capable of protecting LIF against PMSF-induced inhibition, also inhibited the esterolytic activity of the purified LIF preparation. Four synthetic oligopeptide substrates for trypsin, thombin and plasmin were investigated. Only one, the thrombin- and trypsin-specific benzoyl-phenylalanyl-valyl-agarine-p-nitroanilide, possessed high affinity for the LIF molecule and may therefore prove to be a potent substrate for this lymphokine.     

In vitro changes in platelet function and metabolism following increasing doses of ultraviolet-B irradiation

Ultraviolet-B (UV-B) irradiation of platelet concentrates (PCs) may prevent the development of posttransfusion HLA alloimmunization. This study evaluated the effect of increasing doses of UV-B radiation on stored PCs. Pooled PCs were irradiated at UV-B doses of 600, 2400 or 10,000 mJ per cm2 and stored up to 96 hours under standard blood bank conditions. Compared to nonirradiated room-temperature and 37 degrees C controls, the irradiated units showed no significant changes in platelet count, white cell count, discharge of lactate dehydrogenase, release of beta-thromboglobulin, metabolism of ATP, ADP, ammonia, glutamine, glutamate, hypoxanthine, pCO2, or pO2 at any time of storage following any of the three UV-B doses. However, after a dose of 10,000 mJ per cm2, there were significant decreases in in vitro assays of platelet function-specifically, osmotic recovery and morphology score. Some metabolic systems were also affected by the 10,000 mJ per cm2 radiation dose, as shown by a decline in pH and bicarbonate and an increase in glucose consumption and lactate production (p < 0.05). The changes in these latter assays appeared only after 96 hours of postirradiation storage. Such changes were not seen in either the room- temperature or 37 degrees C control groups. Thus, heat generated during irradiation, per se, did not appear responsible for the observed in vitro changes in platelet function and metabolism. On the basis of the assays analyzed, it is concluded that UV-B irradiation of PCs at doses up to 10,000 mJ per cm2 does not induce significant metabolic or functional derangements following short-term storage (24-48 hours).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Is the tongue position influenced by the palatal vault dimensions?

Summary The influence of the palatal vault dimensions on tongue position is here studied through evaluation of the in‐mouth air cavity (IMAC) volume when the mandible is in maximal intercuspal position. A sample of 35 women (mean age 21·2 ± 1·0) and 15 men (mean age 22·1 ± 0·9) was selected. The sagittal cross‐section area of the IMAC, which is modulated by the tongue position, was measured on lateral cephalograms. Dental casts were used to measure the palatal vault volume, which was defined by the occlusal plane, the hard palate and the posterior face of the second molars. Palatal vault volume allowed deduction of the IMAC volume through a rule of three procedure relating volume to area ratios. No IMAC could be calculated from cephalograms of 10 subjects who had the tongue stuck to the palate. For the 40 other subjects, the IMAC volume was 8·9 ± 4·8 mL. It was 2 mL larger in men (n = 14) than in women (n = 26) and was the largest in skeletal Class III and the smallest in skeletal Class II (P > 0·05). IMAC volume was strongly correlated with palatal vault height but neither with palatal width nor length. It was thus assumed that the height of the palatal vault could influence the most observed position of the tongue but this does not exclude a possible growth influence of the tongue on its surrounding skeletal structures.     

Resilient liner vs. clip attachment effect on peri‐implant tissues of bar‐implant‐retained mandibular overdenture: a 1‐year clinical and radiographical study

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare between the effects of resilient liner and clip attachments of bar‐implant‐retained mandibular overdenture on peri‐implant tissues. Materials and methods: In a randomized‐controlled clinical trial, 30 edentulous male patients (mean age 62.5 years) were equally assigned to two groups. In each patient, two implants were inserted in the canine area of the mandible using a two‐stage surgical protocol. After 3 months, the implants were connected with resilient bars. Mandibular overdentures were retained to the bars with either clips (group I) or silicone‐resilient liners (group II). Peri‐implant tissues were evaluated clinically (with regard to plaque scores, gingival scores and probing depths) and radiographically (with regard to peri‐implant vertical and horizontal alveolar bone changes). Evaluations were performed at the time of overdenture insertion (T0), 6 months (T6) and 12 months (T12) after overdenture insertion. Results: After 12 months of using bar‐implant‐retained mandibular overdenture, the resilient liner attachment had significantly decreased peri‐implant plaque score, gingival score, probing depth, vertical and horizontal bone loss when compared with the clip attachment. Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, and in terms of peri‐implant tissue health of bar‐implant‐retained mandibular overdenture, we recommend resilient liner rather than clip attachment. To cite this article:
Elsyad MA, EL Shoukouki AH. Resilient liner vs. clip attachment effect on peri‐implant tissues of bar‐implant‐retained mandibular overdenture: a 1‐year clinical and radiographical study.
Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 21 , 2010; 473–480
doi: 10.1111/j.1600‐0501.2009.01879.x     

STUDIES ON THE SPASMOLYTIC AND UTERINE RELAXANT ACTIONS OF N -ETHYL AND N -BENZYL-1,2-DIPHENYL ETHANOLAMINES: ELUCIDATION OF THE MECHANISMS OF ACTION

The influence of N -ethyl- and N -benzyl-1,2-diphenyl ethanolamines (compounds E and B, respectively) was examined on the spontaneously contracting rabbit jejunum and the rat uterus together with their influence on the contractions induced by some spasmogens in the guinea-pig ileum and oxytocics and CaCl₂in the pregnant rat uterus. Both E and B inhibited the spontaneous contractions of the rabbit jejunum with ID₅₀values of 0.13 and 0.03 μmol ml⁻¹. Their inhibitory activities were not antagonized by α- or β-adrenoceptor blockers but significantly reversed by CaCl₂(0.015 μmol ml⁻¹). The compounds also antagonized nicotine, ACh-, histamine-, 5-HT- and CaCl₂-induced contractions by 44–100%. Compound E seemed to be several times more potent than B in inhibiting the spontaneous uterine contractions with an ID₅₀of (7 nmol ml⁻¹). Their inhibitory effects were not antagonized by β₂-adrenoceptor or H₂-receptor blocking drugs. Both compounds (40 nmol ml⁻¹) antagonized in a competitive manner CaCl₂-induced contractions in the K⁺-depolarised uterus and PGE₂and oxytocin-induced uterine contractions. The ID₅₀values were in the range of 1.6–10.7 nmol ml⁻¹. The results suggest that E and B compounds may be considered as putative L-Ca²⁺channel blockers with certain selectivities. The E compound seemed to be more selective against uterine L-Ca²⁺channels and the B compound against intestinal smooth muscles. Thus, the compounds may be of potential value in treatment of some colics, the irritant bowel syndrome, dysmenorrhoea and premature deliveries. 1999 Academic Press@p$hr