A brief version of the Scale of Emotional Development - Short.

BACKGROUND: The Scale of Emotional Development - Short (SED-S) captures the level of emotional development in persons with a disorder of intellectual development (DID) with 200 items on five developmental levels. The study aims to develop a brief version of the SED-S. METHODS: Based on item analysis (proportions, χ2 -test, Spearman's ρ and corrected item-total correlation), a brief version of the SED-S was developed in a sample of 224 adults with a DID (n1 ) and validated in a second independent matched sample (n2  = 223). RESULTS: Item reliability ranged per item set from Cronbach's α = 0.835 to 0.924. Weighted kappa resulted in κω  = 0.743 (P < 0.001, 95% confidence interval = 0.690-0.802). Overall agreement of the brief version with the original SED-S was PO  = 0.7. The brief version of the SED-S showed weaknesses in distinguishing level 2 from the adjacent levels. CONCLUSIONS: The brief version of the SED-S showed good reliability and moderate to good validity results. Items of phase 2 and, to some degree, of phase 5 should be revised to further improve the psychometric properties of the scale.

Harman (1-methyl-beta-carboline) in blood plasma and erythrocytes of nonalcoholics following ethanol loading.

Eleven subjects having no history of substance abuse or dependence who agreed to abstain from alcohol for one week prior to the investigation were selected to participate in the present study. On two occasions, separated by four to six weeks, blood was drawn over an 8-hour period (0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8 hours). On the first occasion, subjects were given an oral dose of ethanol (1 g/kg) after the first blood sample was drawn (ethanol-loading condition). On the second occasion no ethanol was administered (control condition). On both occasions no detectable harman was found in the plasma of subjects. In the control condition harman was detected in the erythrocytes of 7 subjects which remained relatively stable over time. In the ethanol-loading condition, however, a time-dependent increase of harman in the erythrocytes was observed. The concentration of ethanol, acetaldehyde, and erythrocyte-harman showed a parallel trend over time. These findings demonstrate an increased level of harman following ethanol loading in humans.