Substance abuse differences among students receiving special education school services

Social fragility is used as a context for explaining reported substance abuse differences between disabled children and youth receiving special education school services. Characteristics of severely behaviorally handicapped, specific learning disabled and developmentally handicapped are summarized. Reported use of cigarettes and other drugs are summarized for elementary, junior high and high school students. Differences in patterns of use between special education populations at each level of schooling and regular education students are identified and explored. Differences are interpreted in terms of social attachment and cognitive functioning issues.     

Cognition and the disease process: Genesis, maintenance, and treatment

The present paper is directed toward the conceptualization of disease states and their management from the cognitive point of view. The role of cognitive sytles and self-statements in the pathogenesis of disease and the execution of coping styles is presented. A review of the literature on the cognitive treatment of medical disorders has documented the utility of such approaches with several medical problems, but a need for more rigorous empirical efficacy remains. The necessity of analyzing the coping processes elicited by specific disease states is viewed as essential to the understanding of the patient and the design of intervention strategies. Finally, a cognitive analysis of patient compliance to treatment regimens is presented.     

Detection of mycoplasma contamination lymphoblastoid cell lines by monoclonal antibodies

We have produced two monoclonal antibodies, SFR1-Myco 1 and SFR1-Myco 2, that detect Mycoplasma fermentans found to contaminate lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL). The specificity of these monoclonal antibodies against the M. fermentans was determined by indirect immunofluorescence by demonstrating the reactivity of the monoclonal antibodies with known reference strains of mycoplasma grown on soft agar. The reactivity of these antibodies against LCL in a number of immunoassays correlates completely with the presence of mycoplasma in these cells as determined by a standard mycoplasma detection assay. Because of the potential for widespread contamination of B lymphoblastoid cell lines transformed with Epstein-Barr virus-containing supernatants obtained from marmoset cell lines contaminated with M. fermentans, these monoclonal antibodies have value as screening reagents for this mycoplasma species in LCL.     

Biofeedback-assisted cue-controlled relaxation for the treatment of flight phobias

Three Ss exhibiting an extreme fear of flying were successfully treated using EMG biofeedback-assisted cue-controlled relaxation in conjunction with systematic desensitization. The procedure involved (1) training Ss in deep muscle relaxation using frontalis EMG biofeedback, and (2) pairing a self-generated cue word—“Relax”—with low levels of frontalis EMG. The cue-controlled relaxation resulted in deeper levels of relaxation than non-cue assisted relaxation, and appears to afford a useful treatment modality for a range of disorders. Cognitive vs conditioning explanations were discussed.     

宁夏住校大学生铁状态评价

1983年11～12月,对宁夏医学院185名住校大学生进行了红细胞内游离原卟啉(FEP)、血红蛋白(Hb)及 FEP/Hb比值等测定。结果表明,FEP 及 FEP/Hb 与Hb 呈显著负相关,其相关系数分别为-0.82及-0.81(P 均<0.001)。铁缺乏症(隐性缺铁+缺铁性贫血)患病率女生为24.6%,男生为6.9%。研究提示,关系到住校大学生铁营养状态之膳食管理和学生的饮食习惯,是学校卫生保健部门应予研究的一个现实课题。     

The social determinants of emergency department and hospital use by injection drug users in Canada

Objective The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and human immunodeficiency (HIV) status of a cohort of injection drug users (IDUs) on their self-reported health service utilization. Design Interviewer-administered questionnaire. Methods IDUs who had injected illicit drugs within the previous month were recruited through street outreach. They underwent serology for HIV-1 and questionnaires on demographics, drug using behaviors, housing status, and health service utilization (hospitalization overnight and emergency department visits) in the previous 6 months. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent associations with the use of health services. Results Of 1,103 cohort participants, 65% were male, 63% were white, and 23% were HIV positive. Cocaine was the most frequently injected drug used. Almost half (47%) had used health services in the previous 6 months. The following variables were associated independently with health service utilization (adjusted odds ratio; 95% confidence interval): unstable housing, defined as living primarily in a hotel, boarding room, or transition house or on the street in the past 6 months (1.44; 1.11–1.86); female gender (1.45; 1.11–1.89); HIV-positive status (1.43; 1.06–1.92); injection of cocaine (1.50; 1.12–2.02); and primary care physician visit in past 6 months (1.91; 1.39–2.64). Conclusion IDUs with unstable housing were more likely to report emergency department and hospital use, which may be a reflection of their disorganized lifestyle or poorer health status. Further studies are required to assess the effect on the health status and health care use of IDUs of interventions that increase the availability of safe, affordable housing. Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences, St. Paul's Hospital