Severity of Intimate Partner Abuse Indicators as Perceived by Women in Mexico and the United States

SUMMARY

Objective: Women in Cuernavaca, Mexico and Los Angeles, California were surveyed to examine differences in their perceptions of the severity of domestic violence indicators.

Methods: One hundred twenty women in each country rated the severity of 26 domestic violence indicators which were part of an abuse screen used for an ongoing study of the prevalence of abuse. Rasch analysis was conducted to determine the linear relationship in the perceptions of the severity of each event between the two countries.

Results: The Rasch calibrated logit values show that women in the US rated 24 of the 26 events as more severe than women in Mexico. However, items were ranked in similar order and a clear linear pattern was established. In both countries, being shot with a gun was the most severe event and a partner becoming jealous was the least severe.

Conclusion: The country of origin did not dictate which events were most severe but did influence how severe these events were perceived.     

以血清肌酐为变量估算肾小球滤过率新公式的创建

目的创建准确、简便、安全、廉价、合理的估算肾小球滤过率（eGFR）新公式。方法用99mTc-DTPA清除率准确测定136例受试者GFR（Tc—GFR）,同时测定血清肌酐（SCr）等多种临床指标,经相关及回归等统计学分析,求出基于SCr的成年中国人eGFR（SCrAC．eGFR）新公式。另选117例受试者,以同法准确测定其Tc—GFR,同时测SCr与尿素氮,以SCrAC-eGFR、美国DMS法等12条公式eGFR,所得数据进行相关分析与对比研究。结果所求得的新公式成立,其回归系数差异有统计学意义（P〈0．01）;SCrAC—eGFR新公式、美国DMS法、日本苦味酸法等6条公式的eGFR均能在一定程度上准确反映肾小球滤过率,而以SCrAC-eGFR新公式和美国DMS法公式更准确,可代替Tc-GFR应用于临床。结论SCrAC—eGFR新公式、美国DMS法等6条公式均为准确、简便、快速、安全、廉价而合理的估算肾小球滤过率方法,值得临床推广应用。     

Relationship of glucose intolerance and hyperinsulinaemia to body fat pattern in South Asians and Europeans

Summary Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus and insulin resistance are associated with centrally-distributed obesity. These disturbances are especially prevalent in people of South Asian (Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi) descent. We examined the relationship of glucose intolerance to body fat pattern in a population survey of 2936 men and 537 women of South Asian and European origin living in London, UK. In both groups glucose intolerance (defined as diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance) was more strongly associated with waist-hip girth ratio than with skinfolds or body mass index. The associations between body mass index and glucose intolerance were fully accounted for by waist-hip ratio. In European men with normal glucose tolerance fasting insulin levels were more strongly correlated with body mass index than with waist-hip ratio. Physical activity scores were lower in South Asians than in Europeans but no statistically significant associations between glucose intolerance and low physical activity were detectable. Leisure-time physical activity scores were inversely correlated with 2 h insulin levels in both groups. In contrast with other studies these results suggest that a specific effect of intra-abdominal fat deposition underlies the association between glucose intolerance and obesity. The association between hyperinsulinaemia and obesity is less specific for centrally-distributed fat. When measured appropriately waist-hip ratio is the most valid anthropometric index for identifying individuals whose obesity predisposes them to glucose intolerance.     

Differences in reproductive endocrinology between Asian men and Caucasian men--a literature review

This review provides an overview of the literature on aspects of reproductive endocrinology wherein Asian men may differ from Caucasian, notably, prostatic nioplasm and the sensivity to pharmacological regimens of male contraception. Both genetic and environmental factors, such as nutrition, might be relevant. Asian men residing in Asia seem to be relatively protected from clinical prostatic nioplasm while the prevalence of preclinical prostatic nioplasm is not different. Migration to an area with a higher prevalence reduces this difference but does not undo it. With regard to prostatic nioplasm the following factors have been considered as relevant in Asian men: 1) a reduction in 5α-reductase level, 2) decreased levels of androgenic ketosteroid precursors of 5α-reduced androgen metabolites, 3) the decreased presence of a P53 mutation, 4) a higher CAG-repeat length of the androgen receptor, 5) a possible higher level of physical activity, 6) differences in sexual activity. Furthermore, Asian men respond to a higher degree with azoospermia in response to contraceptive steroids. Possible explanations offered for the more pronounced response to contraceptive steroids are: 1) differences in testicular structure and decreased spermatogenic potential, 2) an earlier and more marked suppression in LH secretion by exogenous androgens. The differences may be due to genetical and/or environmental factors influencing the peripheral testosterone metabolism. Dietary factors such as the higher intake of phytoestrogens in Asians might exert effects on 5α-reductase activity and/or on sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) levels,thus having an impact on the biological efficay of circulating androgens. ( Asian J Androl 2000; 2:13 - 20 )     

The evaluation of undergraduate students' written English language skills

CONTEXT: Writing is an important skill for practitioners and students, yet this is a skill rarely taught in a formal capacity at medical school. At the University of Adelaide many students are from non-English speaking backgrounds and have varying proficiencies in English. We wished to devise a method and instrument which could identify students who may benefit from formative feedback and tuition in writing. OBJECTIVES AND METHOD: Students' written account of a short clinical interview with a standardized patient was assessed using a new instrument (the Written Language Rating Scale) designed especially for this study. The assessment of writing was made by one rater with qualifications in teaching English as a second language. SUBJECTS: 127 second-year medical students enrolled at the University of Adelaide, Australia. INSTRUMENTS AND RESULTS: The scale appeared to have good internal consistency, face and construct validity, and test security was not an issue. However, it had questionable concurrent validity with a standardized language test, although this may be partly due to the period of time which had elapsed between administration of the two tests. CONCLUSIONS: This study was useful in providing a means to objectively rate students' written English language skills and to target students in need of formative feedback and tuition. However, further research is necessary for both evaluation of medical writing and interventions for its improvement.     

An oral health promotion program for an urban minority population of preschool children

The objective of this project was to design, implement and evaluate an oral health promotion program for inner-city Vietnamese preschool children in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The project comprised of four general phases: information-gathering, project planning, project implementation, and project evaluation. The information-gathering phase of the project demonstrated extensive tooth decay in young children, bottle use during the day and during sleep-time long past recommended weaning age, and a belief of many parents that primary teeth were not important. Based on this information, the project planning committee designed a program that featured one-to-one counseling supported by community-wide activities. A Vietnamese lay health counselor provided counseling to mothers with telephone follow-up that coincided with scheduled infant immunization visits to a twice-monthly Child Health Clinic for Vietnamese families. At all the follow-up assessment clinics scheduled over the 7-year duration of this continuing project, mothers who had had more than one counseling visit reported significantly less use of sleep-time and daytime bottles for their children, and their children demonstrated significantly reduced prevalence of caries compared to similarly aged children at baseline. One-to-one counseling with regular follow-up provided by a lay person of similar background and culture to the participants is an effective way to facilitate adoption of healthy behaviors and to improve oral health of children.     

HLA-DRB1*01 and DRB1*04 alleles in Sardinian rheumatoid arthritis patients

In Sardinia, like in other Caucasoid populations, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is significantly associated with HLA-DR4 and DR1 antigens. To discover which DR4 and DR1 alleles were associated with the disease we selected 22 Sardinian patients affected by RA. Fifty DR4+ and 28 DR1+ healthy individuals coming from the same geographical area were used as controls. In the Sardinian patients only two DRB1*04 alleles were observed: DRB1*0405 in 11 and DRB1*0403 in three patients. The DRB1*0102 allele was observed in two patients and DRB1*0101 in six patients. Hereditary predisposition to RA in Sardinia therefore seems to be almost exclusively associated with the DRB1*0405 and DRB1*0101 alleles which share the 67LLEQRRAA74-85VG86 epitope in the peptide binding groove.     

Traditional healing in Likorrahi in the early 20th century

AIM: The aim of this study is to record empirical data and views regarding health, illness, healing, hygiene, prevention and birth in a rural society at the beginning of the 20th century. BACKGROUND: Likorrahi was a small Greek village in the region of Epirus that was abandoned during the 1970s. Epirus is a rural and mountainous area. DESIGN: The research was conducted 10 years ago among former inhabitants of the community of Likorrahi. The informants were 33 Likorrahites over the age of 60. The research method which was used was that of ethnographic interviews focusing on general health issues. FINDINGS: The findings show that in the early 20th century different doctors, nurses and midwives offered their health care services free to the Likorrahites. There were few doctors, there was no medicine and science knew little of disease. CONCLUSIONS: This study has historical value for nurses and other health professionals. It will also be of interest to anthropologists, ethnographers and students of rural history.     

湖南侗族嘴部活体观测

目的　探讨湖南侗族成年人嘴部的形态特征 ,为体质人类学研究积累资料。方法　用活体观测方法对 2 64例成年侗族人嘴部进行活体研究。结果　得出了湖南侗族嘴部 3项观察值和 6项测量值 ,以及口裂高、宽指数及其分型。结论　湖南侗族嘴部有其独特的特征。