State laws on tobacco control--United States, 1995.

PROBLEM/CONDITION: State laws on smoke-free indoor air, youth access to tobacco products, advertising of tobacco products, and excise taxes on tobacco products are summarized. REPORTING PERIOD COVERED: Legislation effective through June 30, 1995. DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEM: CDC and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) identified state laws addressing tobacco control by using LEXIS, which is an on-line legal research data base, and NCI's State Cancer Legislative Database (SCLD), which is a data base of legislation. CDC and NCI conducted detailed analyses of the content of the laws to identify specific provisions. RESULTS: CDC and NCI identified 1,238 state laws that address tobacco-control-related issues. Most laws either enact restrictions or strengthen current legislation that restricts tobacco use, sales to minors, or advertising; however, some laws preempt stronger measures by local ordinances. At the state level, forty-six states and Washington, DC require smoke-free indoor air to some degree or in some public places. All states prohibit the sale and distribution of tobacco products to minors, but only nine states restrict advertising of tobacco products. All states tax cigarettes (average excise tax is 31.5 cents per pack); 42 states also tax chewing tobacco and snuff. INTERPRETATION: State laws addressing tobacco control vary in relation to restrictiveness, enforcement and penalties, preemptions, and exceptions. ACTIONS TAKEN: The tables summarizing these laws are available through CDC's State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) system and through NCI's SCLD. This information can be used by policy makers at the state and local levels to plan and implement initiatives on youth access to tobacco products and on the use, promotion, advertising, and taxation of tobacco products.

The cloning of the human follicle stimulating hormone receptor and its expression in COS-7, CHO, and Y-1 cells.

Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) receptor clones were isolated from a human testis cDNA library. Characterization of the cDNA clones showed that the DNA and predicted amino acid sequences of the long open reading frame differed from a previously published human ovarian FSH receptor sequence (Minegish et al. (1991) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 175, 1125-1130) by seven nucleotides and five amino acids. A human FSH receptor splice variant was also identified and characterized. A full-length human FSH receptor cDNA was engineered for expression in COS-7, CHO, and Y-1 cells. In transient transfections of COS-7 cells and stable transfections of Y-1 cells, efficient FSH receptor mRNA accumulation and isolation of FSH-responsive cell lines occurred only when an intron was included in the 5' untranslated region of the FSH receptor transcription unit. Y-1 cells stably transfected with the FSH receptor responded to FSH treatment by rounding up and by synthesizing increased amounts of progesterone. Stably transfected CHO cell lines, which responded to FSH by synthesizing increased amounts of cAMP, were isolated irrespective of the presence of the heterologous intron. The FSH-responsive CHO and Y-1 cell lines may be suitable for the development of better in vitro FSH bioassays. These cells also constitute a convenient source of human FSH receptor protein for use in radioreceptor assays and in studies of receptor-ligand interactions.

Physiological basis of motor effects of a transient stimulus to cerebral cortex.

This contribution includes a selective review of previously published material, findings from some new experiments, and discussion of some relationships between animal and recent human data. The major questions are: What descends from the cerebral cortex after a brief surface stimulus? What explains the various components of the corticofugal discharge? What are the motor consequences of the corticofugal discharge, and what are the effects of lesions on both? The focus is on the corticospinal system, which through its monosynaptic connection with alpha motoneurons of distal muscles accounts for the short latency movements after a transient cortical stimulus. The pyramidal and lateral corticospinal tract response in monkey or cat to a surface stimulus applied to area 4 is a direct (D) wave conducted in fast axons followed by several indirect (I) waves with a period of greater than 1 ms. Although computer summing reveals, at increasing amplitudes, D and I waves in recordings from nuchal skin, vertebra, and surface of the spinal cord, "killed end" recording is essential to reveal the true extent of I relative to D waves. The D wave might result from excitation of: the initial segment (IS), i.e., the classical spike trigger zone; the first or deeper nodes in white matter; or arborizations of the axon collaterals in gray matter. Under different circumstances, each of these modes of excitation can be effective. Thus, with threshold stimulation through separated bipolar electrodes, intracellular recording from pyramidal tract (PT) and uninvaded motor cortical neurons shows that D activation usually occurs when the membrane potential immediately before the stimulus is relatively depolarized, implying excitation of the IS region, i.e., close to the site of synaptic transfer. A monopolar surface (+) stimulus at the appropriate focus usually generates a D wave at weaker intensity than does a surface (-) stimulus. However, if a little above threshold, stimuli of either polarity generate both D and I waves, but the ratio of D:I amplitude is usually greater with surface (+) stimulation. A theoretical estimate of the depth of excitation by a surface (+) stimulus was consistent with threshold excitation occurring at the first node. Slow PT neurons are excited by surface stimulation, but trivially contribute to population PT or corticospinal recordings. Intracellular recording from PT neurons identifies a monosynaptic excitatory postsynaptic potential as the cause of the first I wave, the period between successive I waves reflecting single delays for synaptic discharge.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

The proenkephalin gene is widely expressed within the male and female reproductive systems of the rat and hamster.

The distribution of proenkephalin mRNA in reproductive tissues of the rat and hamster was examined by Northern analysis and RNA blot hybridization. In the male reproductive tract of both species, proenkephalin mRNA was detected in the testis, vas deferens, epididymis, seminal vesicles, and prostate. Except in the case of the rat testis, the size of this transcript in each organ was identical to that generally observed in tissues expressing proenkephalin (1450 nucleotides). The major proenkephalin mRNA species expressed in the rat testis migrates as a 1900-nucleotide RNA on denaturing agarose gels. In the male rat and hamster, the highest abundance of proenkephalin mRNA was found in the testis and epididymis. A 1450-nucleotide proenkephalin mRNA also was detected in each of the 3 female reproductive tissues of the rat and hamster that were examined: uterus, oviduct, and ovary. These unusual observations suggest that proenkephalin-derived peptides are synthesized at multiple sites within the male and female reproductive tracts of the rodent and may locally regulate reproductive function.

Usefulness of a review of systems questionnaire in the assessment of the hospitalized adolescent.

A study was conducted to assess whether a standard questionnaire, the Mile Square Youth Clinic Questionnaire, could enhance communication between patients and physicians, leading to an improvement in the care of the hospitalized adolescent. Each questionnaire was compared with: validated concurrent notations on the medical record, and the history recorded in the patient's outpatient chart. Eighty-two of the 100 patients completing the questionnaire presented new information resulting in a better understanding of the individual patient's needs. The new concerns elicited could be categorized into six groupings: personal/family (19.4%), school/friends (17.8%), body/weight (17.2%), somatic concerns/cancer (26.7%), sexuality/birth control (12.2%) and drinking/drugs (6.7%). Most patients had more than one area of concern. The study supports the usefulness of a review of systems questionnaire as a method of data gathering for the hospitalized adolescent.

Reduction of multiaxonal innervation at the neuromuscular junction of the rat during development.

1. A study was made of the functional and structural changes that occur during the decrease in multiaxonal innervation of neonate rat muscle fibres 2-14 days after birth. 2. In day 8 to day 14 animals there was a constant daily loss in the average number of functionally transmitting axons/muscle fibre measured electrophysiologically. An investigation of synaptic transmission during this period revealed that the loss of functional contact from the supernumerary axons was not preceded by any sign of failing terminal conduction or a gradual decrease in transmission efficacy but rather appeared to occur abruptly. 3. Neonate end-plates showing signs of abnormal ultrastructure were observed during the period of synapse elimination. Some axon terminals had a high cytoplasmic density and condensation of synaptic vesicles. Signs of Schwann cell encroachment into the synaptic cleft were readily found and large areas of post-junctional membrane apposed only by Schwann cell were evident. 4. It is suggested that the mechanics of the process of synapse elimination in neonates is similar to that occurring during degeneration in the denervated adult. Transmission failure occurs abruptly at the supernumerary endings and they are disposed of by the Schwann cell.