The Barnum Effect and Chaos Theory: Exploring College Student ACOA Traits

The literature both supports and challenges the notion that adult children of alcoholics are a distinct and homogenous group. College students (n = 200) were placed into one of four categories: Adult Children of Alcoholics, Adverse Childhood Event Group, Alcohol and Adverse Childhood Event Group, and the No Adverse Event Group. Participating college students then completed instruments that measured drug and alcohol use, adult children of alcoholics traits, defensiveness, impulsivity, and resistance to change. Differences surfaced on two instruments, the Drug Abuse Screening Inventory and the Children of Alcoholics Scale. Adult children of alcoholics were overrepresented as CAST+ and underrepresented as CAST–. The Alcohol and Adverse Event groups were underrepresented in the DAST+ category.     

Serum gamma glutamyl transferase (γ-GT) activity in alcoholics with liver abscess and chronic alcoholics

Gamma Glutamyl Transferase (γ-GT) is a microsomal enzyme. Its activity in serum is assayed in alcoholics with liver abscess and alcoholics without liver abscess after screening by ultrasonography. The enzyme activity in serum is increased by 334% in the patients with liver abscess compared to normal control subjects (p<0.0001), and 172% when compared to patients with chronic alcoholism without liver abscess (p<0.0001). The enzyme activity was increased by 59.3% in the serum of patients without liver abscess compared to the normal control subjects (p<0.001). Measurement of γ-GT in serum appears to be a sensitive index in the diagnosis of alcoholics with liver abscess.     

Association of hyperhomocysteinemia to alcohol withdrawal in chronic alcoholics

This study is conducted in chronic alcoholics to assess the association of an Individual’s level of serum homocysteine with the success of achieving alcohol deaddiction in the patient. The patients’ nutrition status is also assessed. 50 chronic alcoholics admitted to a deaddiction center were inducted into the study. Patients underwent an 8 weeks holistic program to promote rehabilitation from alcoholism. All the patients were addicted to alcohol for 8 – 10 years. Of the 50 patients enrolled, 39 of them completed the 8 weeks program including complete abstinence from alcohol during this period. Fasting blood samples were collected on admission and again after 8 weeks of alcohol abstinence for analyses of serum homocysteine and serum prealbumin, transferrin, total proteins and albumin, gammaglutamyl transferase (GGT) and alanine transaminase (ALT). Of the 50 patients enrolled in the study, 39 completed the 8 weeks rehabilitation program. 11 patients discontinued within 2 weeks of admission. During the 8 weeks of complete alcohol abstinence, patients were given a balanced diet and multivitamin supplements. A significant improvement in their nutritional status was noted by the elevation of serum levels of prealbumin, transferrin, total proteins and albumin. Serum homocysteine levels decreased significantly (p<0.002) to normal levels from previous hyperhomocytenemia. This was accompanied by decrease in serum GGT and ALT levels indicating improved liver functions. Serum estimation of homocysteine in chronic alcoholics is important to assess whether the patient will have a successful rehabilitation. Normal homocysteine levels are achieved after dietary changes and abstinence from alcohol. Timely correction of hyperhomocysteinemia also provides successful rehabilitation.     

Differential risk for developmental reading disorders in the offspring of compensated versus noncompensated parents

When one or both parents have a history of developmental reading disorder (RD) in childhood, the risk to their offspring for developing reading problems is substantially increased. However, risk research has usually assumed a stability of reading problems across the lifespan (i.e., if a parent was affected in childhood, he or she remains affected in adulthood). Yet, some individuals with RD in childhood compensate for the disorder as they grow older. Both an environmental and genetic hypothesis would predict that the risk for RD in offspring will vary as a function of parental compensation. This study examined whether risk to offspring was dependent on the parents' successful or unsuccessful compensation for their childhood reading problems. Two large family data sets were analyzed (N=907). Diagnoses with either an age discrepant or IQ discrepant criteria essentially showed that having at least one still affected parent (i.e., RD both as a child and as an adult) put the offspring at a higher risk for RD than having at least one compensated parent (i.e., RD as a child but not as an adult). The lowest risk to an offspring occurred when both parents were never affected (i.e., not RD as a child or as an adult). The implications of these findings are discussed with regard to counseling and early diagnosis of reading problems.     

Subtypes of ADH2 gene in alcoholics

Alocholism is the multifactorial disease influenced by genetic environmental interaction and genetic variation of the genes may be associated with alcohol dependence due to its modified function in behavioral and physiological responses. In the present study, genetic variation was detected in the subtypes of gene, coding for the alcohol metabolizing enzyme Alcohol Dehydrogenase 2 (ADH2). Blood samples were collected from the alcoholic and non alcoholic subjects and genotyping was performed using PCR-RFLP (Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism), analysis to determine genetic polymorphisms in the ADH2 gene subtypes. The three subtypes of ADH2 gene (ADH2.1, ADH2.2 and ADH2.3) were found in both alcoholics (Family History Positive and Family History Negative) as well as non alcoholics.     

重新认识市场经济条件下的民营家族企业

家族制在我国民营企业中，不论数量还是比例都是最高的，它是我国政治、经济与化在特定阶段的反映。在我国市场经济发展的现阶段，家族企业有其自身的优势，而且它与现代企业制度也不是完全排斥的。现在完全否定家族企业，要求家族企业全部面向现代企业转化，这是不现实的，也是违反客观规律的。     

通过一起500kV SF6电流互感器故障发现其家族性缺陷

本文对一起500kVSF6电流互感器进行了故障分析,解体发现了家族性缺陷,最后给出了建议。     

Familial resemblance for measures of reading performance in families of reading-disabled and control twins

In order to assess familial resemblance for measures of reading performance, data from 314 pairs of twins in which at least one member of each pair is reading-disabled [142 monozygotic (MZ) and 172 dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs], 273 matched control pairs (131 MZ and 142 DZ pairs), and their parents were subjected to both correlation and regression analyses. Results indicate that parent-offspring resemblance in families of reading-disabled probands does not differ substantially from that in families of controls. In general, the correlations and regressions for MZ twin pairs are greater than those for DZ twins; thus, individual differences in reading performance are due at least in part to heritable influences. As expected, regression coefficients are consistently larger than correlation coefficients for both parent-offspring and proband-cotwin comparisons in the reading-disabled sample, illustrating that regression analyses are more appropriate than correlations for assessing familial resemblance in selected samples.     

中国古代妇女缘坐及刑罚

缘坐,是中国古代因一人犯罪而株连其亲属和家属的制度,是一种基于家族血缘关系而产生连带责任的刑罚制度。缘坐主要适用于谋反、谋叛、大逆不道等危害皇权的重大犯罪。因家族中有父兄犯罪,祖母、母亲、妻子、女儿、姊妹也要受到株连,特别是出嫁女即要受到父亲家族的缘坐,还要受到丈夫家族的缘坐,是"一人之身,内外受辟"。对妇女缘坐的刑罚有弃市(死刑)、没官(收为官奴婢)、给功臣家为奴、流三千里等。在中国古代不同的历史时期妇女缘坐范围有逐步缩小、处罚逐步减轻的变化。     

Family profiles of maltreated children in Singapore: A latent class analysis

Children who enter the child protection system often have complex family problems and have experienced early adverse experiences. Using latent class analysis, this study aimed to identify family classes of child protection cases in Singapore, to ascertain the prevalence of these family classes, and to test the association of family class membership to subsequent recurrence of harm. A sample of 440 cases who entered the Child Protective Service in Singapore was analyzed based on eight familial factors on the household and caregiver levels. A four-class solution was found to demonstrate the best fit: (a) the large household group was intergenerational and majority lived with extended family members, (b) the harsh parenting group showed high levels of parenting problems and the caregiver justifying his abuse/neglect, (c) the high criminality group had high levels of caregiver substance abuse and caregiver arrest and incarceration history, and (d) the low disadvantage group rated low on all the familial factors. A Cox Regression revealed that in comparison to the low disadvantage group, the harsh parenting group was twice as likely to have recurrence of harm. There were also differences across family classes with regard to age at entry into child protection, gender composition and abuse types. The findings and practice implications are discussed.