John A. Gaines

The Prediction of Sexual Aggression by Alcohol Use, Athletic Participation, and Fraternity Affiliation

Alcohol, athletics, and fraternities have been targeted in the popular media as primary causes of sexual aggression on campus. Except in the case of alcohol, the empirical data supporting these associations is weak. The present study assessed the joint contribution of these three variables to the prediction of sexual aggression among a sample of 530 undergraduate men including 140 athletes representing all varsity sports. Approximately 11% of the variance in the level of sexual aggression was accounted for by four variables including self-reported intensity of alcohol use and degree of athletic participation, but not fraternity affiliation. The alcohol and athletic variables also discriminated those men who reported participating in gang rapes ( N = 17) from those not involved. Although significant prediction was achieved, the results must be viewed cautiously as the power of the effects was small. The article concludes with the implications of the findings for rape prevention education.

Alternative Pathway of Complement Activation in Full Term and Premature Infants

Summary: Classical and alternative pathway complement levels were measured in the cord blood sera of 60 newly born infants, with weights ranging from 1200–4165 g. The impact of maternal illness and infant illness on the complement levels was also evaluated. The mean values for CH50, C3, C4, PH50, factor B, and properdin were all significantly less than normal adult levels (P < 0.0001). AH of the above determinations were significantly correlated with one another except for the relationship between properdin and factor B.CH50, PHS0, C4, and properdin levels were significantly correlated with birth weight although there was much residual scatter. Neither maternal illness nor mild to moderate illness in the newborn altered the birth weight-complement relationships. Severe infant illness did significantly alter the relationship between birth weight and complement. However, the impact of this variable on the birth weight-complement relationships was not consistent among the various components. These inconsistencies and the small sample size preclude drawing any strong conclusions about severe illness and complement levels.Speculation: The alternative pathway activation sequence appears to be deficient to the same degree as the classical pathway activation sequence. This suggests that the entire serum complement system develops as a single unit. Severe illness in very low birth weight babies may be associated with abnormalities in serum complement levels greater than would be expected from the low birth weight alone.

Lanolin and Epidermal Growth Factor in Healing of Partial-thickness Pig Wounds

A total of 80 partial-thickness wounds (4.4 cm2 size, 400 micron deep) was inflicted by electrokeratome in the dermal skin layer of four piglets, 15 kg body weight. The wounds were treated with gauze (control), lanolin cream (Lanolor or Lanolin with emulsifiers, Squibb) or with human epidermal growth factor (EGF) delivered in lanolin cream (10 micrograms EGF/mL cream). The treatment was applied every 12 hours for 12 to 120 hours after wounding. The reepithelization rate of the wound was determined by standardized morphometric method. In addition, we measured the thickness of the dermis and cell counts in the dermis. We found that most of the statistically significant enhancement of the epithelization rate, thickness of the dermis, and higher cell count in the dermis were attributed to the effect of lanolin cream alone. The additional significant enhancement of healing by EGF over that of lanolin alone was documented in one of our experiments, but was only marginal. In another experiment using another commercial formulation of lanolin, we found no difference between the effect of EGF and lanolin. Several hypotheses were suggested to explain the effect of the two tested lanolin cream formulations, which induced strong inflammatory reaction in the wound.

An optimal morphometric method for quantitating wound epithelization

A new, inexpensive method for quantitative evaluation of reepithelization of shallow split thickness wounds in piglets is described. Wounds, 2.2 X 2.2 cm and 0.4 mm depth are inflicted by an electro-keratome knife in domestic piglets. At a specific time after wounding, the wound area is excised and processed for histology. A computer simulation, based on a randomized systematic sectioning of an entire wound, was used to conclude that only eight sections from the 2.2 X 2.2 cm wound are needed for the final evaluation. The results showed that the above method allows for determination of the epithelization magnitude within +/- 5% at a 95% confidence limit. It was found that in 15 kg piglets 50% epithelization of the above wounds was achieved in 65 hr; however, there exists a great interindividual variability. The rate of epithelization is age dependent and significantly faster in 7 kg body weight piglets than in those weighing 40 kg. The epithelization rate was the same at both the wound edge and the center of the wound, stressing the importance of hair follicles as a source of epithelization.

Prospective Comparison of Plain Abdominal Radiography with Conventional and Digital Renal Tomography in Assessing Renal Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy Patients

Most publications citing the effectiveness of renal extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy have used plain abdominal radiography to assess residual calculi after treatment. We compared radiologist sensitivity and specificity in the detection of calculi on plain abdominal radiographs versus conventional film-screen and digital renal tomograms in extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy patients. Of the patients 50 were imaged before and within 24 hours after lithotripsy. Six radiologists evaluated the resultant 300 studies for the presence and location of calculi. The mean sensitivity for digital tomograms was 83% for pre-lithotripsy and post-lithotripsy studies, which was significantly higher than for plain abdominal radiography and conventional tomography after lithotripsy. However, there were significantly more false positive stone diagnoses associated with digital tomogram interpretation. Signal detection analysis verified the over-all superiority of digital tomography for post-extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy imaging. Calculus detection by conventional and digital tomography is superior to detection by plain abdominal radiography. However, because we did not perform delayed imaging, it is not possible to say what impact digital tomography might have on the management of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy patients.

Patterns of caffeine use and prescribed medications in psychiatric inpatients

Two matched groups of inpatients (N = 40) who had access only to caffeinated versus decaffeinated coffee on an acute psychiatric ward were compared using pre- and postchange measures. The two groups did not differ significantly on any of the psychological assessments or in medication use over the course of treatment, with the exception that patients given caffeinated coffee who received prescribed phenothiazines had significantly higher dosages than those in the groups given decaffeinated coffee.

Inflatable and noninflatable penile prostheses: Comparative follow-up evaluation

This evaluation was conducted with 63 men who were organically impotent and subsequently received either an inflatable penile prosthesis (n = 43), a noninflatable penile prosthesis (n = 14), or both in succession (n = 6). The patient groups were compared for sexual satisfaction, sexual activity, mental status, complications, satisfaction with prosthesis, and relationship changes. The methods of evaluation were the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory and two unstandardized questionnaires. Significant differences were found between the two patient groups: inflatable prosthesis recipients report being more sexually satisfied, more satisfied with their implant, experiencing less psychiatric distress, having a more rapid postsurgical recovery, more sexually active, and experiencing more positive changes in relationships with their partners than do recipients of a noninflatable prosthesis. The data suggest that the inflatable prosthesis may be a more favorable choice for most individuals than noninflatable devices.

Body weight, static and dynamic skinfold thickness in small premature infants during the first month of life

The growth of prematurely born infants is different from the growth of fetuses of the same age remaining in utero. This is in part due to changes in body composition that occur after birth. In search for a practical and reliable method to assess the growth of small prematures, we analyzed data obtained in two anthropometric studies that included 180 premature infants of 750-1750 g weight at birth, and we studied the relationships between weight, static skinfold thickness (SSFT) and dynamic skinfold thickness (delta SFT, i.e. the percentage of change in skinfold thickness between 15 and 60 s after application of the Harpenden caliper). The results show that the SSFT increases steadily after birth in spite of a significant decrease in weight and delta SFT. Whether it contains fat or not, the fold of the skin is increasing in thickness at a time when by weight alone, one would have considered that there was no growth. The nutritional implication of this finding remains to be studied. Serial correlations of measures obtained at each period indicate that weight and SSFT have a good correlation to same measures in subsequent weeks (P less than 0.01). delta SFT, however, showed only a weak correlation (P = 0.05). The delta SFT follows the general pattern of known changes in total body water, but it is not accurate enough to determine changes in individual infants; further studies are thus needed to find a practical method to evaluate changes of body composition and its relevance in the measurement of growth of premature infants.

Computer-aided rhinometry: analysis of inspiratory and expiratory nasal pressure-flow curves in subjects with rhinitis.

Airflow through the nose was measured by posterior rhinometry with the aid of a microcomputer to study reproducibility of pressure-flow curves, the ease of detection of nasal congestion and decongestion, and mathematical modelling of P-V curves. In twelve subjects with rhinitis, the median coefficient of variation of nasal airway resistance was between 4.9% and 14.4% and was not significantly affected by inspiration and expiration, congestion and decongestion, or the flow rate at which it was measured. Fitting of 630 P-V curves to a quadratic equation was usually excellent, particularly during expiration.

Computed Tomographic Analysis of the Composition of Renal Calculi

The recent advent of percutaneous removal of renal calculi — including extraction, dissolution, and ultrasonic or electromechanical destruction of calculi — makes it important to determine the chemical composition of a patient’s calculus prior to deciding upon the best method of therapy. While blood chemistry, examination of the urine sediment, and review of the patient’s clinical history are helpful in this regard, the true nature of a calculus often remains in doubt. The experiment detailed in this report represents an initial, ex vivo evaluation of computed tomography (CT) as a method of improving the categorization of calculi prior to deciding upon a treatment plan. Our results indicate that CT may prove to be a useful adjunct to traditional clinical and laboratory methods for discriminating among types of renal calculi.