Parental alcoholism and early child development

In a cohort of 532 pregnant women from the general population, it was found by compilation of the results from interviews, police records, hospital records and social welfare records that 23 mothers and 51 fathers in 64 families (12%) were suffering from alcoholism/heavy drinking. In these 64 families, the mother was an addict in only 13 families, both parents were addicts in 10 families, and in the remaining 41 families only the father was an addict. Pregnancy, delivery, the newborn child and the child's development until their fourth year of life have been described using a multidisciplinary approach and a longitudinal prospective design. An hypothesis on mental and physical development, and the occurrence of psychopathological symptoms in the children was tested. None of the children of the 13 alcoholic mothers was born with foetal alcohol syndrome, but foetal hazard was indicated by lower birth weight and a higher rate of perinatal deaths. Children of alcoholic parents had retarded mental development and showed more behavioural problems until 4 years of age than controls, but the differences related to physical development during the first year of life had then disappeared. Boys were found to be more vulnerable than girls. The consequences of behaviour seemed to be more pronounced when both parents were alcoholics. No obvious deviation was found when only the father was addicted. Regarding mental development, it appears that factors related to parental alcoholism, including genetic and social factors, and the sex of the child, are of greater importance than the neonatal score on reduced optimality.     

Continuing professional development for radiographers

Purpose: The purposes of this survey were to identify the current participation in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of radiographers in the South and West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA), and to invite them to comment on issues related to CPD activities.Methods: A questionnaire was sent to 1686 diagnostic and therapy radiographers in the SWRHA. This was designed to gain a profile of those radiographers currently practising and their participation in, and comments on, CPD activities.Results: A response rate of 51% was achieved, although only 634 questionnaires were used for the final analysis. The population of radiographers who responded were predominantly diagnostic, in the age range 26–45 years, female and employed on a full-time basis. Most respondents did not hold any post-registration qualifications, and only 149 respondents were involved in formal studies. Most respondents were involved in statutory CPD activities such as resuscitation and manual lifting, and fewer, although a majority, were involved in activities associated with changing roles and developing new competencies. Other CPD activities which respondents considered as benefiting their professional role were wide ranging. Most of the issues raised concerning CPD related to provision, support and funding.Conclusions: The challenge for the future is to develop a coherent, progressive and affordable scheme of CPD to meet the needs of individual radiographers, the health services, the patient and the profession.     

Chy-3 mice are Vegfc haploinsufficient and exhibit defective dermal superficial to deep lymphatic transition and dermal lymphatic hypoplasia.

Recent advances in molecular lymphology and lymphatic phenotyping techniques in small animals offer new opportunities to delineate mutant mouse models. Chy-3 mutant mice were originally named for their chylous ascites, but the underlying lymphatic disorder was not defined. We now re-examined these mice and applied advanced genotyping and lymphatic phenotyping techniques to pinpoint the specific lymphatic defect in this mouse model. We demonstrated that Chy-3 mice carry a large chromosomal deletion that includes Vegfc and narrowed this region by monitoring the heterozygosity of genetic markers. We found that Chy-3 mice not only exhibited chylous ascites but also lymphedema of the hind paws and, in approximately half of the males, lymphedema of the penis. Visual lymphangiography and immunofluorescence staining showed a hypoplastic dermal lymphatic network, whereas the blood vasculature appeared unaffected. This hypoplastic lymphatic network was functional, and all adult Chy-3 mice exhibited a lateral lymphatic pathway directly connecting the inguinal to the axillary lymph node. The dermal superficial to deep lymphatic connections in upper limbs and in all cervical regions were intact and functionally drained the upper body. Lymphatic tracer was not transported from the dermal to the deep truncal lymphatic system in the lower limbs, even though the deep lymphatic vessels and nodes were present and patent. These findings further delineate the lymphatic phenotype of Chy-3 mice, identify a collateral lymph drainage pathway previously undescribed in other genetic models of lymphedema, and demonstrate a predilection for lymphatic abnormalities of the lower limbs.     

Predictors of Maternal Responsiveness

PURPOSE: To explore maternal responsiveness in the first 2 to 4 months after delivery and to evaluate potential predictors of maternal responsiveness, including infant feeding, maternal characteristics, and demographic factors such as age, socioeconomic status, and educational level. DESIGN AND METHODS: A cross-sectional survey design was used to assess the variables of maternal responsiveness, feeding patterns, and maternal characteristics in a convenience sample of 177 mothers in the first 2 to 4 months after delivery. The 60-item self-report instrument included scales to measure maternal responsiveness, self-esteem, and satisfaction with life as well as infant feeding questions and sociodemographic items. An online data-collection strategy was used, resulting in participants from 41 U.S. states. FINDINGS: Multiple regression analysis showed that satisfaction with life, self-esteem, and number of children, but not breastfeeding, explained a significant portion of the variance in self-reported maternal responsiveness scores. In this analysis, sociodemographic variables such as age, education, income, and work status showed little or no relationship to maternal responsiveness scores. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides additional information about patterns of maternal behavior in the transition to motherhood and some of the variables that influence that transition. Satisfaction with life was a new predictor of maternal responsiveness. However, with only 15% of the variance explained by the predictors in this study, a large portion of the variance in maternal responsiveness remains unexplained. Further research in this area is needed.     

Preselection Thymocytes Are More Sensitive to T Cell Receptor Stimulation Than Mature T Cells

During T cell development, thymocytes which are tolerant to self-peptides but reactive to foreign peptides are selected. The current model for thymocyte selection proposes that self-peptide–major histocompatibility complex (MHC) complexes that bind the T cell receptor with low affinity will promote positive selection while those with high affinity will result in negative selection. Upon thymocyte maturation, such low affinity self-peptide–MHC ligands no longer provoke a response, but foreign peptides can incidentally be high affinity ligands and can therefore stimulate T cells. For this model to work, thymocytes must be more sensitive to ligand than mature T cells. Contrary to this expectation, several groups have shown that thymocytes are less responsive than mature T cells to anti-T cell receptor for antigen (TCR)/CD3 mAb stimulation. Additionally, the lower TCR levels on thymocytes, compared with T cells, would potentially correlate with decreased thymocyte sensitivity. Here we compared preselection thymocytes and mature T cells for early activation events in response to peptide–MHC ligands. Remarkably, the preselection thymocytes were more responsive than mature T cells when stimulated with low affinity peptide variants, while both populations responded equally well to the antigenic peptide. This directly demonstrates the increased sensitivity of thymocytes compared with T cells for TCR engagement by peptide–MHC complexes.     

MANIPULATION OF CHILDREN'S EATING PREFERENCES

Giving foods as rewards can enhance consumption of those foods, while giving rewards to induce consumption of foods can decrease subsequent consumption of those foods.     

医用机动车辆装备标准化发展刍议

分析了我国医用机动车辆装备的技术特征、市场发展的前景，综述了军内外医用车辆研制的现状及标准与标准化发展概况．并对我国医用机动车辆技术标准体系进行了论证，提出了当前医用机动车辆装备标准少的解决方法和措施以及标准化组织建设等建议。     

Neuronal migration and dendritic maturation of the medial cerebellar nucleus in rat embryos: an HRP in vitro study using cerebellar slabs

The morphological maturation of medial nuclear neurons of fetal rat cerebella was studied using an in vitro assay. Neurons of this nucleus were identified in isolated preparations of rhombencephalon between embryonic days 16 and 20 (E16-E20) by the intracerebellar decussation of their outgrowing axons within the uncinate fascicle. A small crystal of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) applied either in the region containing the inferior cerebellar peduncle or, preferably, in the lateral cerebellum retrogradely labeled contralateral medial nuclear neurons. In the youngest embryos (E16-E17), HRP-marked neurons were situated rostrally at the dorsal surface of the cerebellum. By E18, the cell mass containing labeled neurons had shifted in a rostrocaudal and dorsoventral direction and finally reached the adult position in E19-E20 embryos. Dendritic differentiation of these neurons followed a similar positional gradient, closely corresponding to the pattern of temporal development. From the most immature monopolar forms located dorsally to the virtually adult stellate neurons in a ventral position, it was possible to trace a continuum of intermediary forms grouped into six well-defined stages. Immature monopolar cells first became transversely bipolar. Then, they changed orientation, assuming a longitudinal radial direction. During this stage, neurons sank into the cerebellar parenchyma. As they reached their final destination, these neurons gradually developed dendrites which radiated from the cell body in an adult-like pattern. It is concluded that the medial nuclear neurons occupy a superficial dorsal position in early phases of cerebellar ontogeny, thereafter undergoing a second, inward migration. The main stages of neuronal dendritic differentiation occur between E16 and E20, indicating that the ingrowth of afferent in puts to the medial nucleus most probably occurs rather early and is concomitant with dendritic development.     

Patterns of angiogenesis in neural transplant models: I. Autonomic tissue transplants

Functional vascular connections must form rapidly to prevent ischemic damage to grafted neural tissues. The temporal sequence by which transplant circulation is re-established provides information about the angiogenic capacity of either intact or damaged CNS blood vessels. This study compares the time course and mechanism of vascular reperfusion in allografts of superior cervical ganglia or adrenal medulla inserted either into the fourth ventricle or directly into the parietal cortex of perinatal rats. Tritiated thymidine was administered to recipients to determine angiogenic patterns at various postoperative time periods. After processing for light microscopic autoradiography, host and graft endothelial labelling indices were determined in order to establish the temporal sequence and location of vascular proliferation. Correlative electron microscopy depicted the morphological changes in transplant vasculature. Some recipients were prelabelled with 3H thymidine prior to transplantation to determine if host vessels invaded the grafts. Intraventricular graft vessels initially collapsed but sustained minimal ischemic damage and were completely reperfused by 24 hours postoperative. Adjacent intact host vessels attained peak 3H thymidine incorporation at 20 hours. Intrinsic graft vessels were radioactively labelled only after 48 hours. Intraparenchymal transplants surrounded by minimal trauma exhibited a similar temporal sequence of reperfusion and host endothelial proliferation. Intrinsic graft vessels in intraparenchymal grafts sustained more severe damage. With increased trauma, a concomitant delay in graft reperfusion time was observed. Grafts within prelabelled hosts rarely contained any labelled endothelium, indicating that anastomotic connections were made between original, intrinsic graft vessels and nearby host vascular sprouts. This study demonstrates that mature autonomic tissue stimulates the growth of adjacent host vessels when transplanted to undamaged brain surfaces. The anastomosis of nascent host vessels with pre-existing graft vessels is responsible for the rapid re-establishment of circulation within the transplants. A similar mechanism occurs within intraparenchymal grafts, although the rapidity of reperfusion appears to be predicated on the amount of trauma present at the graft site.