Women's Danger Management Strategies in an Inner‐City Housing Project*

The danger management strategies of low‐income African American women who live in a public housing community characterized by chronic violence are examined. Based on qualitative interviews with 18 single mothers, we explored the violent community dangers with which women contend, the nature of this violence, the strategies used to deal with community violence, and their benefits and costs to family and community life. Findings show that multiple types of violence characterized life in the community and that this violence has specific physical locations, a particular set of actors, and a temporal rhythm. Women's responses to violence were nonconfrontational and family focused in nature. These efforts were effective in keeping women and their children safe, but did not reduce the prevalence of violence.     

Acute Polymyositis Following Renal Transplantation

Myositis is a rare complication following renal transplantation and is most commonly the result of drug-mediated myotoxicity. Other causative disorders include viral infection, electrolyte imbalance and myositis of autoimmune origin. We describe a 60-year-old patient who developed acute polymyositis 4 weeks after a 000 human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatch cadaveric renal transplant. Following an uncomplicated transplant course with maintenance triple immunosuppression (prednisolone, mycophenolate mofetil and cyclosporine), the patient presented with severe symmetrical proximal muscle weakness associated with a rise in serum creatine kinase to 46800 U/L. Electromyography confirmed myopathic changes and muscle biopsy demonstrated extensive muscle-fiber necrosis with an inflammatory infiltrate. There were no obviously culpable drugs and viral studies were negative. Prompt initiation of high-dose steroid therapy led to clinical and biochemical recovery. Acute polymyositis may occur following renal transplantation. Potential mechanisms include viral antigen transmission or a localized form of graft vs. host disease.     

Short-Ti inversion-recovery pulse sequence: analysis and initial experience in cancer imaging

Inversion recovery (IR), commonly considered a pulse sequence capable of producing T1-weighted images with excellent display of normal anatomy, is versatile: The null point and peak time provide a useful, succinct summary of the properties of IR and its capacity for producing both T1- and T2-weighted images. Shortening of the inversion time (TI) and creation of a short-TI inversion-recovery (STIR) pulse sequence increases sensitivity to malignancy and other abnormalities by making the effects of prolonged T1 and T2 on signal intensity additive and by nulling the signal from fat. The authors examined over 300 patients with various malignancies and compared STIR images with T1- and T2-weighted images obtained at 0.5 T. In 43 cases, signal-difference-to-noise ratios (SD/Ns) were calculated between tumor, fat, and muscle. In general, STIR images demonstrated tumor as a conspicuously high-intensity area in a background of muted, discernible anatomic detail. The good contrast achieved with STIR sequences between tumor and fat (SD/N = 18.1) and tumor and muscle (SD/N = 12.9) consolidated into a single image the information contained separately on T1- and T2-weighted images, which facilitates efficient detection and localization of malignancy.