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Intergenerational cycle of maltreatment: a popular concept obscured by methodological limitations.

OBJECTIVE: The intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment is a controversial subject. Much of existing research is plagued with at least three fundamental weaknesses: (1) using case status to define subjects: (2) adopting a dichotomous perspective that does not consider the reality of maltreatment on various continua; and (3) using operational definitions that fail to differentiate between maltreatment subtypes. We controlled for these problems and examined the structure of child maltreatment and its influence on later parenting practices in an ethnically-diverse community sample. METHOD: Data from a community sample of parents (N = 383) were analyzed with a Structural Equation Modeling methodology. Reliable and valid continuous measures of child maltreatment (Child Trauma Questionnaire) and parenting practices (Parental Acceptance and Rejection Questionnaire) were used. RESULTS: Results revealed a moderately strong effect from a general factor of Child Maltreatment to a general factor of Poor Parenting for both mothers and fathers, supporting a common dysfunction transmission process. For mothers. Family Neglect by itself also led to poor parenting, and sexual abuse as a child led to aggressive parenting. For fathers, Child Maltreatment had a different structure, as sexual abuse was distinct from the factors of Family Abuse and Family Neglect. Also, for fathers, sexual abuse led to rejecting parenting practices. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the intergenerational cycle of child maltreatment hypothesis in such a way that several weaknesses in much of existing research were controlled. Clinical implications and potential mechanisms of transmission are discussed.

Adult↗

The scientific, quasi-scientific and popular literature on the use of St. John's Wort in the treatment of depression.

St. John's Wort, also known as Hypericum, is an herbal product that is available in health food stores as an allegedly 'safe' alternative to antidepressants developed by the pharmaceutical industry. Recently it has received extensive coverage through the media, especially in the United States. To the best of our knowledge, Germany is the only country where it has been formally approved for clinical use. We reviewed both the vulgar and the scientific literature on this product. Although the few controlled studies that have been conducted pertain to adjustment disorder with depressed mood, several books and the media advocate its use for clinical and/or chronic depression. The high placebo rate in these studies, often in the 50% range, does indeed suggest that the controlled trials have been conducted on mild transient depressions; extrapolation to more serious or chronic depressions would therefore be unwarranted. We could not find any published literature comparing the efficacy of Hypericum to a standard antidepressant versus placebo. Furthermore, the studies claiming safety and freedom from potentially serious side effects appear flawed methodologically. Actually, little is known about the putative mechanism of action of Hypericum in depression; if indeed it does involve serotonergic mechanisms or monoamine-oxidase inhibition, it invites caution with concurrent use with an SSRI and, of course, with a MAOI. A skeptic might conclude that St. John's Wort should not be used until more definitive data are available. A less conservative view would be that, while its current widespread use is not warranted, the product may still have some merit for mild nonchronic depressive states below the clinical threshold. If this were conclusively proven, it would indeed constitute an important development in the field of antidepressants.

Antidepressive Agents↗

Identification of lactic acid bacteria constituting the predominating microflora in an acid-fermented condiment (tempoyak) popular in Malaysia.

Tempoyak is a traditional Malaysian fermented condiment made from the pulp of the durian fruit (Durio zibethinus). Salt is sometime added to proceed fermentation at ambient temperature. In various samples obtained from night markets, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were the predominant microorganisms, ranging from log 8.4 to log 9.2 cfu g(-1). No other microorganisms were present to such a level. These samples contained reduced amount of saccharose, glucose and fructose but increased amount of D- and L-lactic acid and acetic acid compared with samples of non-fermented durian fruit. Sixty-four isolates of LAB were divided into five groups by use of a few phenotypic tests. A total of 38 strains of LAB were selected for comparison by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of their whole cell protein patterns with a SDS-PAGE database of LAB. These strains were also examined for their carbohydrate fermentation patterns by use of API 50 CH. Isolates belonging to the Lactobacillus plantarum group were shown to be the predominant members of the LAB flora. In addition, isolates belonging to the Lactobacillus brevis group, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactobacillus mali, Lactobacilus fermentum and an unidentified Lactobacillus sp. were also observed. A high degree of diversity among isolates belonging to the Lb. plantarum group was demonstrated by analysis of their plasmid profiles.

Colony Count, Microbial↗

Wild mice: an ever-increasing contribution to a popular mammalian model.

Classical laboratory inbred strains of mice have been extremely helpful for research in immunology and oncology, and more generally, for the analysis of complex traits. Unfortunately, because they all derive from a relatively small pool of ancestors, their genetic polymorphism is rather limited. However, recently strains belonging to different species of Mus have been established from wild progenitors. These are an interesting addition to the arsenal of mouse geneticists, because they can be crossed with classical laboratory strains to produce viable and fertile offspring with a large number of polymorphisms of natural origin. These strains are helpful for making genome annotations because they permit highly refined genotype-phenotype correlations. They also allow the interpretation of molecular variation within a clear evolutionary framework. In this article, we provide examples with the aim of promoting the use of these new strains.

Animals↗

Distribution of major and minor alkaloids in tobacco, mainstream and sidestream smoke of popular Indian smoking products.

Various Indian smoking products--cigarette, bidi, chutta and a brand of US cigarette--were analysed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) for the levels of nicotine and minor tobacco alkaloids in tobacco, mainstream smoke (MS) and sidestream smoke (SS) employing modified smoking standards, namely two puffs/min. The analysis clearly demonstrated relatively higher levels of nicotine and minor tobacco alkaloids in tobacco from bidi (37.7 mg/g) and chutta (34.5 mg/g) when compared with Indian and US cigarettes (14-16 mg/g) studied. Relatively lower levels (SS/MS) of nicotine in SS from bidi and chutta compared with Indian/US cigarettes, suggest that the contribution of nicotine in SS from a single bidi/chutta to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is very much less than that of a single Indian/US cigarette. Reduced levels of nicotine in SS of bidi/chutta result in relatively higher deliveries of nicotine in MS as reflected by higher MS/SS values. The observed differences are likely to be due to difference in tobacco processing, burning rate/temperature and design of the smoking product.

Alkaloids↗

Medicinal plants popularly used in the Brazilian Tropical Atlantic Forest.

A survey of medicinal plants used by rural and urban inhabitants of the three cities of the Tropical Atlantic Forest, Region of Vale do Ribeira, State of São Paulo, Brazil was performed by means of 200 interviews with medicinal plant users and extractors and, traditional healers. One hundred fourteen herbal remedies were recorded and the following information reported: Latin, vernacular and English names, plant part used, forms of preparation and application of the herbal remedies, medicinal or food uses, areas of plant collection, economic importance (when available) and other data.

Brazil↗

Hepatoprotective activity of Boerhaavia diffusa L. roots--a popular Indian ethnomedicine.

The roots of Boerhaavia diffusa L., commonly known as 'Punarnava', are used by a large number of tribes in India for the treatment of various hepatic disorders. In the present study the effect of seasons, thickness of roots and form of dose (either aqueous or powder) were studied for their hepatoprotective action to prove the claims made by the different tribes of India. The hepatoprotective activity of roots of different diameters collected in three seasons, rainy, summer and winter, was examined in thioacetamide intoxicated rats. The results showed that an aqueous extract (2 ml/kg) of roots of diameter 1-3 cm, collected in the month of May (Summer), exhibited marked protection of a majority of serum parameters, i.e. GOT, GPT, ACP and ALP, but not GLDH and bilirubin, thereby suggesting the proper size and time of collection of B. diffusa L. roots for the most desirable results. Further, the studies also proved that the aqueous form of drug (2 ml/kg) administration has more hepatoprotective activity than the powder form; this is probably due to the better absorbtion of the liquid form through the intestinal tract.

Alanine Transaminase↗

Psychosocial factors in the etiology of breast cancer: review of a popular link.

Breast cancer is the most frequently occurring type of cancer in women in the western world. The etiology of a large proportion of breast cancers is still unexplained, and the possibility that psychosocial factors could play a role is not ruled out. Already in pre-Christian times, it was assumed that psychological factors might play a significant role in the development of breast cancer. However, studies have failed to produce conclusive results. There is still a lack of knowledge on the relationship between breast cancer development and psychosocial factors such as stressful life events, coping styles, depression, and the ability to express emotions. The results of this review show that there is not enough evidence that psychosocial factors like 'ways of coping' or 'non-expression of negative emotions', play a significant role in the etiology of breast cancer.

Adaptation, Psychological↗