Acculturation, alcohol consumption, and casualties among United States Hispanics in the emergency room.

The association of alcohol consumption and casualties was analyzed among Hispanic emergency room patients to determine whether level of acculturation and accompanying changes in drinking patterns influence risk of alcohol-related injuries. A sample of patients admitted to a county hospital emergency room during a 1-year period was breathalyzed and interviewed (N = 1,102). Of these, 112 identified themselves as Hispanic.

Validity of self-reported alcohol consumption in the emergency room: data from the United States, Mexico and Spain.

The validity of self-reported alcohol consumption within 6 hours prior to injury based on breath-analyzer readings obtained at the time of emergency room (ER) admission is compared among probability samples of ER patients in Contra Costa County, California (n = 450), Mexico City (n = 500) and Barcelona, Spain (n = 864). The same questionnaire, study design and methods were used in all three countries to maintain comparability for comparative analyses. The analysis was restricted to those breath analyzed within 6 hours of injury occurrence who reported no drinking following the event.

Isolation and molecular characterization of the human CD34 gene.

The human CD34 surface antigen is selectively expressed on hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, suggesting that it plays an essential role in early hematopoiesis. Using a 1.5-kb partial human CD34 cDNA sequence, RNA-polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) methods, we cloned and sequenced the full-length (2.

An animal model of Mycobacterium avium complex disseminated infection after colonization of the intestinal tract.

Mycobacterium avium complex infections occur in 30%-80% of patients with AIDS. Recent evidence supports the gastrointestinal tract as the source of M. avium.

Relationship between two ways of measuring alcohol dependence.

One of the main difficulties hampering research with the concept of the alcohol dependence syndrome is the lack of a set of agreed-upon operational definitions of each element composing the syndrome. To illustrate the possible impact of these different operationalizations of alcohol dependence on research results, this article shows the correlation between two different sets of items used to operationalize DSM-III-R alcohol dependence in a clinical sample. Results show that the correlations between the various sets of items are low.

Drinking patterns and problems: a comparison of emergency room populations in the United States and Spain.

The association of alcohol consumption and casualties is compared in probability samples of two culturally diverse emergency room populations: Barcelona, Spain (N = 2972) and Contra Costa County, California (N = 3609). Similar methods and data collection instruments were used to breathalyze and interview patients regarding self-reported alcohol consumption 6 h prior to the injury, usual drinking patterns and alcohol-related problems. Breathalyzer reading was positively associated with injury in both Contra Costa and Barcelona, but at the legal level only in Barcelona.

Azithromycin for treatment of Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex infection in patients with AIDS.

Mycobacterium avium complex infection is common in patients with AIDS. Experimentally infected mice have been treated successfully with azithromycin, a macrolide antibiotic. We report an uncontrolled phase I study in which male homosexuals with AIDS and M avium complex disease were given 500 mg azithromycin per day orally for 10, 20, or 30 days.

Effect of low-level and intermittent minocycline therapy on the growth of Mycobacterium leprae in mice.

We evaluated the minimal concentrations of minocycline in the diet and in serum required to inhibit the growth of seven Mycobacterium leprae isolates in mice. Minocycline concentrations of 0.01 and 0.

Interaction of Mycobacterium avium complex with human macrophages: roles of membrane receptors and serum proteins.

Invasive, disease-associated members of the Mycobacterium avium complex are facultative intracellular pathogens of mammalian macrophages. The mechanism(s) by which M. avium is ingested by mononuclear phagocytes is unknown.

Activities of various macrolide antibiotics against Mycobacterium leprae infection in mice.

We evaluated the activities of several macrolide antibiotics against M. leprae infections in mouse footpads. Erythromycin and azithromycin were inactive, while both roxithromycin and clarithromycin were found to be consistently active and, in fact, bactericidal.

Drug policy reform in historical perspective: movements and mechanisms.

The use of psychoactive drugs is regarded by many as a basic human drive, but it is one that induces a variety of societal responses to curb it. The present review examines two aspects of government policy on drugs: first, the influence of social movements on drug policy; and secondly, the choices for constraining drug use as an alternative to total prohibition. Addiction is essentially a repeated behaviour which is viewed as excessive or harmful.

Drinking patterns and problems among primary care patients: a comparison with the general population.

While problem drinking is believed to be over-represented in primary care practice, additional research in this area is needed. A probability sample of 394 patients attending all county-operated primary care clinics in Contra Costa County, California, were breathalyzed and interviewed regarding drinking patterns and alcohol problems. These data are compared with those obtained from a representative general population sample of over 3000 respondents living in the same county.

Primary dapsone-resistant Hansen's disease in California. Experience with over 100 Mycobacterium leprae isolates.

We found that in the years 1978 through 1981 only one of 54 previously untreated patients with Hansen's disease was found to harbor dapsone-resistant Mycobacterium leprae. That single strain was only partially resistant, ie, it was resistant to 0.0001% dapsone in a mouse diet but not to higher concentrations.

Alcohol problems and the city.

Alcohol problems have long been especially associated with city life, although this perception is not always supported empirically in comparisons of urban and rural rates. Potential explanations of higher urban rates include: more complete reporting of problems in the city; that problems may occur in the city, but involve non-inhabitants; that migrants to the city may be especially attracted by or vulnerable to heavy drinking; and characteristics of city lifestyles that are conducive to heavy drinking, and to heavy drinking being defined as problematic. On the other hand, there are also potential explanations of higher rural rates, such as the ready availability associated with home production.

Alcohol consumption and casualties: a comparison of emergency room populations in the United States and Mexico.

This study compares alcohol consumption and casualties in probability samples of emergency room populations in the U.S. and Mexico: four hospitals representative of a Bay Area California county (N = 3,609) and eight hospitals representative of Mexico City (N = 2,507).

Recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor activates human macrophages to inhibit growth or kill Mycobacterium avium complex.

Organisms belonging to the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) are associated with life-threatening bacteremia in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). As these organisms survive within macrophages, we examined the ability of recombinant human granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) to activate human monocyte-derived macrophages to inhibit the intracellular growth or kill the most mouse-virulent MAC strain in our collection that belongs to serotype 1. While unstimulated cells did not inhibit intracellular growth of MAC, macrophages activated by GM-CSF (10-10(4) U/ml) inhibited or killed up to 58 +/- 5% of the initial inoculum.

Protection against gram-negative bacteremia in neutropenic mice with recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor.

Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) stimulates production of neutrophils in bone marrow and may decrease the incidence of infection during neutropenia. We evaluated the protective role of recombinant GM-CSF against Pseudomonas aeruginosa challenge in neutropenic mice. CD-1 mice treated with cyclophosphamide on days 1 and 2 of the experiment were given GM-CSF (1, 2, or 4 micrograms/day) starting at day 4 of the experiment according to the following protocol: 1) 1 microgram of GM-CSF 2 hr and 24 hr after challenge; 2) 1 microgram 24 hr before challenge, 2 hr and 24 hr after challenge; 3) 2 micrograms injected 24 hr before and 2 hr after challenge; 4) 2 micrograms given 24 hr before and 2 micrograms given 2 hr and 24 hr after challenge; 5) 4 micrograms administered 2 hr and 24 hr after challenge; and 6) saline and bovine albumin controls.

Subgroup differences in drinking patterns among black and white men: results from a national survey.

Despite major increases in alcohol-related health problems and indications of shifts in the cultural role of alcoholic beverages among U.S. blacks, few studies have examined drinking patterns in this population.

The factor structure of the DSM-III-R and ICD-10 concepts of alcohol dependence.

This paper describes the factor structure of the concept of alcohol dependence as proposed in two psychiatric classifications, the DSM-III-R and the ICD-10. Subjects are 219 men and 162 women who were interviewed while in treatment for alcohol-related problems in nine different treatment programs in Contra Costa county, California. Tests of hypotheses supporting a single factor and a dual factor structure of dependence were rejected by confirmatory factor analysis.

Preliminary results on sexual risk-taking in a general population sample.

This preliminary analysis has shown that there is a considerable amount of sexual risk taking among what is largely a heterosexual population. Although it is not likely that people will faithfully use condoms with regular or main partners, only a few people use them with new or occasional partners. The fact that 20 percent of the adult population took some sexual risks in the last 12 months is quite significant from a public health perspective.

Prediction of alcohol-related casualties: a comparison of two emergency room populations.

Logistic regression was used to compare the predictive value of alcohol consumption variables on casualty occurrence in probability samples of two diverse emergency room (ER) populations who were breathalyzed and interviewed at the time of ER admission: San Francisco General Hospital (N = 1459) and four hospitals representative of a nearby California county (N = 1756). Previous analyses suggested differences in the association of alcohol consumption and injury in these two samples. Age, breathalyzer reading and feeling drunk at the time of the event were consistent predictors of injury status in both samples while breathalyzer reading, quantity and frequency of usual drinking and place of injury occurrence (workplace vs.

Concepts of alcoholism among whites, blacks and Hispanics in the United States.

This article describes agreement with tenets associated with the disease concept of alcoholism among whites, blacks and Hispanics in the U.S. population.

Treatment of experimental disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex infection in mice with recombinant IL-2 and tumor necrosis factor.

Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) is the most common bloodstream pathogen isolated from patients with AIDS. We have previously shown that TNF alone or in combination with IL-2 can activate human and murine macrophages in vitro to kill MAC strains isolated from disseminated infections. To determine whether treatment with TNF and IL-2 could effect the course of disseminated MAC infections in a murine model of disseminated MAC infection, we infected C57BL mice with 3 x 10(8) bacteria i.