The impact of cultural stress and gender norms on alcohol use severity among Latino immigrant men.

Alcohol misuse affects 15 million people in the United States. Compared to White men, Latino men have disproportionately higher rates of both alcohol misuse and negative alcohol-related consequences (e.g. drunk driving, liver disease, alcohol dependence, HIV/AIDS). This cross sectional study examined how cultural stressors [immigration stress and negative context of reception (NCR)] coupled with traditional Latino male gender norms (machismo and caballerismo) influences alcohol use severity (AUS) among adult Latino immigrant men. Data for the present study was collected between 2017 and 2018 from 279 Cuban, Central American, and South American adult Latino men who immigrated to the US approximately 10 years prior. Results from hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed higher levels of perceived NCR (ß = 0.15, p = .01), and machismo (ß = 0.16, p = .02) were associated with greater AUS. Significant interaction effects were found between both cultural stressors and machismo [immigration stress x machismo (ß = 0.22, p < .001); NCR x machismo (ß = 0.22, p < .001)] whereby higher levels of machismo strengthened the association between cultural stress and AUS. Findings from the present study can inform culturally appropriate interventions aimed at mitigating alcohol use among Latino immigrant men.

Determinants of job stress in chemical process industry: A factor analysis approach.

BACKGROUND: Job stress is one of the active research domains in industrial safety research. The job stress can result in accidents and health related issues in workers in chemical process industries. Hence it is important to measure the level of job stress in workers so as to mitigate the same to avoid the worker's safety related problems in the industries. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to determine the job stress factors in the chemical process industry in Kerala state, India. This study also aims to propose a comprehensive model and an instrument framework for measuring job stress levels in the chemical process industries in Kerala, India. METHODS: The data is collected through a questionnaire survey conducted in chemical process industries in Kerala. The collected data out of 1197 surveys is subjected to principal component and confirmatory factor analysis to develop the job stress factor structure. RESULTS: The factor analysis revealed 8 factors that influence the job stress in process industries. It is also found that the job stress in employees is most influenced by role ambiguity and the least by work environment. CONCLUSIONS: The study has developed an instrument framework towards measuring job stress utilizing exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling.

Effect of acute pretreatment of lead on picrotoxin-induced convulsions in rats.

The effect of acute exposure to lead acetate (LA)/lead nitrate (LN) on onset and severity of convulsions induced by a low dose of picrotoxin was examined in rats. Both LA and LN reduced the time of onset and exacerbated the severity of convulsions, with a resultant high lethality. On comparison, it was noted that in the LA-pretreated group, convulsion scores and incidence of tonus and mortality were much higher; the appearance of tonus was more delayed than in the LN-pretreated group. In lead-pretreated animals, the potentiation of picrotoxin-induced convulsions was accompanied by higher lead levels in blood (p < 0.001). However, the whole-brain lead levels were not significantly different in these animals compared to the controls. The difference in the degree of potentiation by the two forms of lead could possibly be attributed either to the role of a combination of anions and cations or to the variable cerebral uptake and regional distribution of lead or due partly to the extent of competitive interaction involving d-aminolaevulinic acid--whose level is known to be elevated consequent to lead-induced disruption of haem biosynthesis--at GABA receptors.