[The role of conjugal relations in the abuse and neglect of children: towards an ecological study]. / Le rôle de la relation conjugale dans l'abus et la négligence d'enfants: vers une étude écologique.

The phenomenon of child abuse and neglect has always existed in Western society. Yet, it is only recently that clinicians and researchers have taken a serious look at these problems. This ever growing interest has come about from not only the stunning number of cases identified each year, but also by the extent and gravity of consequences observed among children. Several professionals interested by the issue have put forward a great number of etiological factors to try to explain abuse and neglect within the family unit. However, when assessing the proposed theoretical models (psychiatric/psychological, sociological, systemic), it appears that certain simple factors can play a large role, for instance the history behind parental development, the quality of marital relations, the child-parent relation, the stress and the extent of the social network, but none of these can clearly differentiate abusive families from non abusive families. It seems however that these different explicative factors would be even more valuable if they were considered in interaction rather than taken individually. Inspired by the ecological framework proposed by Bronfenbrenner (1977, 1979), Belsky (1980, 1984) as well as Cicchetti and Rizley (1981) have also developed a model that simultaneously takes into account all of these factors and their interaction.

[The newborn and the couple: adversaries or partners?]. / La nouveau-né et le couple: adversaires ou partenaires?

We generally accept that the planned arrival of a first child is a source of joy for the new parents and that it provides them with a sense of accomplishment. Traditionally, society welcomes the formation of a family unit and looks forward to this passage into the new role of parenthood. However, not only has research on marital relations set aside the popular imagery of romanticism, but it has increasingly given negative connotations to this crisis-prone transition phase. The objective of this article is therefore to review literature concerning the impact of a newborn child on the marital experience, and to nuance the idea that childbirth can lead to crisis situations within the couple. In conclusion, the authors argue that the concept of marital satisfaction needs to be reformulated. Judging from their brief overview of literature, the authors believe the concept to be too narrowly defined and slightly ambiguous. Indeed, researchers have not yet reached a consensus on the definition of marital satisfaction. Furthermore, they tend to operationalize the concept in very different ways. As a result, there is a lot of conclusion and the fact that many researchers use different terms as a synonym of satisfaction is no help. What's more, the assessment of quality in a relationship should not be limited to measuring the level of satisfaction of the two partners. Other dimensions (e.g. adjustment, commitment, cohesion, etc.) deserve consideration in order to give a more complete image of the changes that occur over the years within the couple.

Immunoactive products of placenta: VIII. Translation products of messenger RNA extracted from murine placenta or A6B9IC5 teratocarcinoma are immunosuppressive in vitro.

RNA was extracted from placentae of synpregnant C3H mice (day 14 of gestation) and from A6B9IC5 teratocarcinoma. After isolation of poly-(A)+ RNA on an oligo d(T) cellulose column, putative messenger RNA was injected into Xenopus laevi oocytes. Supernatants and homogenates from the oocytes were assayed for immunoregulatory activity in MLR, CML, and NK assays and found to be immunosuppressive. These data indicate that immunomodulators could be obtained from the placenta by molecular biology technology in sufficient quantities for eventual clinical applications.

Isolation and partial characterization of messenger RNA, from murine T cell hybrids, coding for suppressive immunoglobulin G-binding factor.

Poly A RNA has been isolated from a murine T cell hybridoma ( T2D4 ) that spontaneously secretes suppressive immunoglobulin G-binding factor ( IgGBF ). Translation products, obtained from a rabbit reticulocyte lysate translation system and after injection into Xenopus laevis oocytes, contain material with the biologic activity, the affinity, and the m.w. of murine IgGBF ; it suppresses secondary in vitro IgG antibody production in a dose-dependent fashion. The suppressive factor binds to IgG but not to IgM immunoadsorbents and, after mild NaDodSO4 treatment, dissociates in NaDodSO4 polyacrylamide gels into two peaks at 78 and 40 kD. Translation products from two non- IgGBF -secreting cell lines (BW-5147, a T lymphoma line, and A9, a fibroblast cell line) fail to exert any suppressive activity. On sucrose gradients, the RNA responsible for the biologic activity was found in one major peak located at 11S. IgGBF synthesized in a cellfree translation system by using poly A RNA and sucrose gradient fractions was also characterized by immunoprecipitation with Fc fragments of [35S]methionine-labeled proteins. On NaDodSO4 polyacrylamide gels, it migrates in one peak located at 37 kD. We conclude that IgGBF is coded for by 11S poly A RNA and that no post-translational modifications (other than proteolytic cleavage) are necessary to obtain a biologically active factor with Ig-binding properties.

Helper activity for antibody synthesis encoded by mRNA extracted from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Translation products in Xenopus laevis of mRNA from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells were tested for their capacity to replace T cells in the anti-SRBC response of nude spleen cells. When the starting material came from PHA or FCS-stimulated lymphocytes, the translated lymphokines, displaying such a B cell helper activity were found to be encoded by mRNA sedimenting at 6-7S and 13S on a sucrose density gradient. 6-7S mRNA from control, non-stimulated lymphocytes was also able to code for B cell helper activity. Thorough T-cell depletion of mouse responder cell populations left unchanged the activity of 6-7S mRNA products while preventing that of 13S products. The latter were found to contain IL-2, which suggests that their action on B cells was indirect, mediated by T-cell stimulation.

[The child and his family : some new research topics.]. / L'enfant et sa famille : quelques nouveaux thèmes de recherche.

The aim of the article is to demonstrate the ever-increasing interest of genetic psychology in the multi-variate analysis of the numerous factors in psychological development. Going beyond the mother-child relation, researchers are turning, more and more, towards physical and family milieu social factors, factors directly linked to the child and forms of family-child adjustment, and this, as much within the context of socio-affective development as that of cognitive development. What is presented is not an exhaustive survey of documentation, but rather an introduction to new, particularly promising, avenues of research.

Effect of various interferons on the spontaneous cytotoxicity exerted by lymphocytes from normal and tumor-bearing patients.

Natural killer cell activity, which represents the spontaneous cytotoxicity of lymphocytes toward tumor cells, has been measured in 173 tumor-bearing patients and 25 healthy volunteers; no significant difference was found in mean natural killer cell activity between the two groups. The parameters of interferon-induced activation of natural killer cells were studied in order to provide a suitable test for monitoring the effect of interferon in clinical trials. The three interferons tested (leukocyte, lymphoblastoid, and fibroblast) were equally active in inducing spontaneous cytotoxicity of lymphocytes from all healthy individuals and tumor-bearing patients studied. Incubation for one hr with 100 units of interferon was sufficient to increase spontaneous cytotoxicity activity, the maximum effect being obtained when lymphocytes were incubated with 1000 units of any of the interferons used. This effect was blocked with the appropriate antiinterferon sera. The target cells for interferon seem to be positive Fc gamma receptor lymphocytes.