The impact of maternal alcohol and illicit drug use on children's behavior problems: evidence from the children of the national longitudinal survey of youth.

This study uses Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to test for evidence of a causal relationship between maternal alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine use, and children's behavior problems. Ordinary least squares (OLS) results provide strong evidence that substance use is associated with behavior problems. However, OLS estimation fails to account for unobserved factors that may be correlated with substance use and child behavior. To account for this problem, mother-child and family fixed-effects models are tested. The results suggest that maternal illicit drug use is positively associated with children's behavior problems, while alcohol use has a less consistent impact.

Applying cost analysis methods to school-based prevention programs.

In order to efficiently allocate scarce prevention resources, policymakers need information about the economic costs of school-based substance use prevention programs. The objective of this paper is to outline economic cost analysis methods and demonstrate their applicability to school-based prevention programs. As an example, the paper focuses on estimating the economic cost of ALPHA, an intensive school-based substance use prevention program. The cost of ALPHA is compared to the costs of 3 elementary school programs that were alternatives to ALPHA. We collected cost information for 3 years, using a cost questionnaire that was completed by program and school budget officers and school principals. The program costs obtained from these sources were modified to conform to well-established economic cost analysis principles.

Gustotoxicity of bleomycin.

50 patients with advanced malignancy treated with bleomycin were assessed for taste abnormality. 5 (10%) cases were found to have some degree of taste impairment. Gustation sense returned to normal within 10-12 weeks following discontinuation of bleomycin therapy. The possible pathophysiology of gustotoxicity is discussed in the light of the available literature.

An unusual tumour mistaken as a lingual thyroid (a case report).

A rare case of benign mass with hypertrophic sero-mucinous gland presenting as a tumour at the junction of the anterior two-thirds and the posterior third of the middle of the tongue is reported, which is found to be of great academic interest because of its unique situation of that of a lingual thyroid and its characteristic histological picture. The salient features of the lesion are discussed.

Hansen's disease and olfaction.

The sense of smell was assessed in a group of 50 leprosy patients. It was found that 40% of the patients showed a mild to complete impairment of the smell sense (anosmia) which was related to the systemic clinical state and to the severity of nasal lesions. Possible reasons for anosmia in leprosy patients are discussed. It has been observed that anosmia may be the presenting feature of leprosy. Most leprosy patients are not aware of olfactory disturbances, and anosmia may be missed unless specifically looked for. It is emphasized that leprosy should be considered an important cause of anosmia, at least in endemic areas, and in an anosmic patient leprosy should be always excluded.

A few points in the management of juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma.

A few points based on our experience on 100 cases of nasopharyngeal angiofibroma are described, which are found very useful in the successful removal of nasopharyngeal fibroma. A new technique for the control of haemorrhage by a muscle graft immediately after the removal of an angiofibroma is advocated.

Amine fluorescamine compounds inhibit oxidative phosphorylation in rat liver mitochondria.

The reaction of fluorescamine with ammonia, benzylamine, o,p-dimethylbenzylamine, 2-phenylethylamine, p-aminobenzoic acid, and the mycosamine-containing macrolide antibiotic, amphotericin B, yield compounds which induce significant effects on mitochondrial activities. From their effects on energy-yielding processes which lead to transmembranous proton movements, the compounds may be divided into three classes. While all modifiers significantly inhibit proton movement induced by both ATP hydrolysis and electron transfer in mitochondria, their influence on the primary energy yielding steps are quite different. Class I modifiers, e.g., the compound made from amphotericin B, inhibit electron transfer but have no effect on the Pi release associated with ATP hydrolysis. Class II modifiers, e.g., the compound made from benzylamine, inhibit respiration but stimulate Pi release. Class III modifiers, e.g., the compound made from p-aminobenzoic acid, on the other hand, only slightly increase Pi release but have no effect on redox reactions. These and other effects of the modifiers are taken to mean that the proton movements and their associated energy-yielding processes are only linked indirectly. The effects of the modifiers on State 3 mitochondrial activities were also investigated. Although all the modifiers decrease the rates of both State 3 respiration and its coupled ATP synthesis, the efficiency of energy conversion measured by the P/O ratio remains unaltered.

Bilateral transitional-type inverted papilloma of the nose and paranasal sinuses.

An uncommon bilateral transitional-type inverted papilloma of the nose and paranasal sinuses is presented, and the salient features of the lesion are discussed. The patient is well and without any signs of recurrence in either side of the nose more than two years after the first diagnosis and complete surgical excision of both tumours. Commonly unilateral, this tumour may occasionally be bilateral. In the present communication an uncommon case of bilateral inverted transitional-type papilloma, with a long history of allergy, is described with some comments on its pathogenesis.

Disturbance of taste in leprosy.

The sense of taste was assessed in a group of 30 leprosy patients. The method used and the results are presented. Twelve patients (40 per cent) showed some degree of impairment of taste sensation and this was shown to be related to the severity of the disease. The possible reasons for the loss of taste are discussed.