Your browser doesn't support javascript.
loading
Show: 20 | 50 | 100
Results 1 - 14 de 14
Filter
1.
J Forensic Sci ; 46(4): 902-7, 2001 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11451075

ABSTRACT

We examined all completed suicides by children and adolescents in Los Angeles County who died during 1996 and 1997. There were 46 subjects, aged 11 through 16. The majority of the decedents were males and over age 14. The predominant racial group was Hispanic. There was an almost even split between firearms and hanging as the means of death. Females had a statistically significantly higher rate of prior suicide attempts than males. Over one-third left a suicide note, almost one-half were noted to be depressed, and 22% tested positive for alcohol or illicit drugs. Less than one-quarter were in mental health treatment. Eighty-seven percent had difficulty transitioning to or during adolescence; e.g., problems at home, legal and school difficulties, and relationship losses. These findings are discussed in terms of Eriksonian developmental theory. We offer recommendations for intervention and prevention of suicide.


Subject(s)
Adolescent Behavior , Child Behavior , Suicide/psychology , Adolescent , Child , Female , Forensic Psychiatry , Humans , Los Angeles , Male , Mental Disorders , Racial Groups , Retrospective Studies , Risk Factors , Sex Factors , Substance-Related Disorders , Urban Population
2.
J Forensic Sci ; 45(4): 815-9, 2000 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-10914576

ABSTRACT

Self-inflicted contact gunshot wounds to the head have usually been considered presumptive of suicide. This study evaluates whether sufficient psychological data are gathered in such cases to support a manner of death determination of suicide. We suggest that law enforcement agencies and coroner's departments do not fully explore the decedent's state of mind at the time of death. We studied the first 50 consecutive deaths in 1993 in a major metropolitan county due to self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the head. The sample consists primarily of unmarried, white males, with a median age of 35 years, who displayed psychiatric disturbance, primarily depression, before their death. Younger individuals were often under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs at the time of death. Stressors, such as the loss of a loved one, are common among young and middle-aged persons, while serious health problems are found among the majority of middle-aged and elderly individuals. Many of the findings of this study are consistent with the literature regarding individuals who commit suicide. Although data on many important psychological risk factors are missing in most cases, sufficient psychological material is gathered about the decedent's mental condition at the time of death to support a suicide determination.


Subject(s)
Forensic Psychiatry , Mental Health , Suicide , Adult , Aged , Female , Firearms , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Retrospective Studies , Risk Factors , Stress, Psychological , Substance-Related Disorders
3.
Mol Reprod Dev ; 56(2 Suppl): 306-8, 2000 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-10824991

ABSTRACT

Transgenic bovine sperm were produced by restriction enzyme mediated insertion (REMI). REMI utilizes lipofection of linearized pEGFP and the corresponding restriction enzyme for integration into the sperm genomic DNA. The transgenic sperm were used in IVF to produce morula expressing GFP. When transgenic sperm were used for AI in two cows, the resultant calves expressed the exogenous DNA in their lymphocytes as determined by (a) PCR and RT-PCR; (b) specific emission of green fluorescence by GFP; and (c) Southern blot analysis. Data demonstrate that REMI is an efficient method for the production of transgenic sperm and corresponding offspring by AI or embryos by IVF.


Subject(s)
Animals, Genetically Modified/genetics , DNA/genetics , Gene Transfer Techniques , Spermatozoa , Animals , Animals, Genetically Modified/metabolism , Animals, Newborn , Blotting, Southern , Cattle , DNA/metabolism , DNA Restriction Enzymes/metabolism , Embryo, Mammalian/metabolism , Fertilization in Vitro , Green Fluorescent Proteins , In Vitro Techniques , Insemination, Artificial , Luminescent Proteins/genetics , Luminescent Proteins/metabolism , Male , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Transfection
4.
Gerontology ; 44(4): 204-10, 1998.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-9657080

ABSTRACT

The objective of this work was to study patients' self-appraisal of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) 6 and 12 months postoperatively, and to establish which factors determine dissatisfaction from surgery. The study group consisted of 79 patients subjected to TKA who underwent rehabilitation in a specialized institution from which they were discharged home after becoming independently ambulatory and capable of independent home care. Data were collected by interviews and physical examinations which were conducted upon admission to the rehabilitation program and at the patients' homes 6 and 12 months postoperatively. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were applied for data analysis. Results of the 1-year follow-up indicated a decrease in the prevalence of pain in the postoperated knee and improvement in ambulatory capacities. The frequency of reliance on a walking aid and the prevalence of pain in the nonoperated knee were not substantially changed, however. In 27% of the subjects pain in the nonoperated knee had worsened at 1 year. One third of the respondents expressed dissatisfaction from the operation. Outcomes of the logistic regression analysis pointed to pain in both the ipsi- and contralateral knee and to the limitations in using stairs as the variables which significantly affected the levels of dissatisfaction 1 year postoperatively. Dissatisfaction could have resulted from inappropriate expectations from either misinterpretations or limited prior knowledge of the likely results of the operation.


Subject(s)
Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee , Patient Satisfaction , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Arthritis/physiopathology , Arthritis/surgery , Female , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pain/physiopathology , Physical Examination , Postoperative Period , Regression Analysis , Time Factors , Walking
5.
J Am Acad Psychiatry Law ; 26(1): 75-87, 1998.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-9554712

ABSTRACT

Mental health clinicians are increasingly held civilly liable for the dangerous acts of their psychiatric patients. One area of liability is the negligent release of involuntarily committed patients who engage in dangerous acts after their hospital discharge. All states have provisions for extended involuntary commitment for mentally ill dangerous patients. We examined extended civil commitment petitions in Los Angeles County, California, and found that the great majority were rejected. While the standard for extended civil commitment in California includes verbal threats of substantial physical harm, deputy district attorneys tended to reject petitions initiated by clinicians when verbal threats were the sole criterion of dangerousness. This tendency by deputy district attorneys can be quite confusing for clinicians. Mental health professionals' liability has sensitized them to the legal implications of patients' verbal threats of harm; attorneys do not incur the same legal liability and are not so sensitized.


Subject(s)
Commitment of Mentally Ill , Forensic Psychiatry/statistics & numerical data , Hospitals, Psychiatric/statistics & numerical data , Length of Stay/statistics & numerical data , Safety , Adult , Aged , Aggression , California , Chi-Square Distribution , Commitment of Mentally Ill/legislation & jurisprudence , Commitment of Mentally Ill/standards , Commitment of Mentally Ill/statistics & numerical data , Female , Humans , Liability, Legal , Likelihood Functions , Male , Middle Aged , Risk Assessment , Safety/legislation & jurisprudence , Safety/standards , Safety/statistics & numerical data , Verbal Behavior , Violence/statistics & numerical data
6.
Biol Reprod ; 51(1): 146-51, 1994 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-7918870

ABSTRACT

Progesterone (P4) production by the bovine placenta differs from that of other steroidogenic tissue in two important respects: 1) it is calcium-dependent but cyclic nucleotide-independent and 2) it is suppressed by an endogenous inhibitor for most of the life span of the placenta. This natural refractory state of the placenta can be overcome in in vitro incubations of fetal cotyledon cells by agents that increase intracellular calcium (3-isobutylmethylxanthine [MIX], calcium ionophore (A23187), addition of substrate (pregnenolone, hydroxycholesterol), and stimulators of protein kinase C (PKC) such as phorbol ester (TPA). We therefore tested, in cultures of cotyledonary cells, two compounds that have been reported to inhibit protein kinases: 1) staurosporine (STA), an inhibitor of PKC, cAMP-dependent kinase, tyrosine kinase (TK), and the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor TK, and 2) genistein, an inhibitor of TK. It was found that STA stimulated steroidogenesis in a dose-dependent manner in both the absence and presence of added calcium. STA (10(-9) M) stimulated at least a twofold increase in P4 production by cultured fetal cotyledon cells throughout the first half of gestation (50-130 days). EGF was also found to cause a twofold stimulation of P4 production, and the effect was additive to that of STA. Both basal and EGF- or STA-stimulated production were inhibited by genistein. In contrast, two inhibitors of PKC and PKA (H-7, H-8) had no effect on P4 production. We conclude that STA-induced steroidogenesis in the bovine placenta is not related to its reported ability to inhibit PKC, TK, or EGF receptor TK.


Subject(s)
Alkaloids/pharmacology , Cattle/metabolism , Placenta/metabolism , Progesterone/biosynthesis , Animals , Calcium/pharmacology , Cells, Cultured , Cycloheximide/pharmacology , Female , Genistein , Isoflavones/pharmacology , Kinetics , Placenta/drug effects , Pregnancy , Protein Kinase Inhibitors , Protein Kinases/metabolism , Staurosporine
7.
Reprod Fertil Dev ; 5(3): 281-3, 1993.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-8272532

ABSTRACT

The oocyte-cumulus complex (25 oocytes per 250 microL medium) produced prostaglandin-F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) and PGE2 during maturation, immediately following fertilization and for at least 48 h after fertilization. The data suggest that PG production is important in the development of the oocyte; addition of PGE2 (5 ng mL-1) to the fertilization medium increased the rate of cleavage and groups of oocytes with low cleavage rates produced far less PG than groups with high cleavage rates. Measurement of PG in the maturation medium could therefore be a means of assessing the suitability of oocytes for fertilization.


Subject(s)
Dinoprost/biosynthesis , Dinoprostone/biosynthesis , Dinoprostone/pharmacology , Embryonic and Fetal Development/drug effects , Fertilization in Vitro , Oocytes/metabolism , Animals , Cattle , Cleavage Stage, Ovum , Female
10.
JAMA ; 211(10): 1699, 1970 Mar 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-5467093
13.
JAMA ; 207(1): 153, 1969 Jan 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-5818139
14.
SELECTION OF CITATIONS
SEARCH DETAIL
...