Total indoor smoking ban and smoker behavior.

METHODS: To assess smoking policy support and effects, 1,083 hospital employees (203 smokers) were surveyed by anonymous questionnaire 1 year after the announcement (5 months after implementation) of a new total indoor smoking ban. A second follow-up, limited to smoker respondents only, was conducted 2 years postannouncement. RESULTS: A total indoor smoking ban was supported by the vast majority of nonsmokers (89%) and ex-smokers (86%) and by nearly half of the then-smoking population (45%). Consistent with previous reports, the smoking ban was associated with a significant decrease in cigarette use during work hours, particularly among moderate to heavy smokers. However, the ban did not result in increased institutional quit rates. Light smokers (< 10 cig/day), compared with heavy smokers (> or = 30 cig/day), were more likely to support the no-smoking policy and had fewer problems observing the ban. They were also less apt to report a decrease in work productivity. CONCLUSION: A total indoor smoking ban had little effect on overall institutional quit rates. Heavy smokers will, predictably, experience the greatest difficulty complying with a total indoor nonsmoking policy.

Relative contributions of arginine vasopressin and angiotensin II to maintenance of systemic arterial pressure in the anesthetized water-deprived rat.

We used a structural analogue of arginine vasopressin (AVP) and investigated the role of AVP in the maintenance of mean arterial pressure (AP) in anesthetized, water-deprived rats. The administration of [1(beta-mercapto-beta,beta-cyclopentamethylene propionic acid) 4-valine-8-D-arginine] vasopressin, d(CH2)5VDAVP, completely inhibited to 30-40 mma Hg rise in AP which normally accompanied the administration of 50 mU exogenous AVP (group 1). Thus, d(CH2)5VDAVP is a specific antagonist of the vascular effects of AVP. d(CH2)5VDAVP failed to significantly alter AP in water diuretic rats (group 3) and was without effect on urine osmolality during water diuresis or antidiuresis. However, bolus injection of d(CH2)5VDAVP into water deprived rats (group 2) prompted an abrupt fall in AP from 112 +/- 4 to 94 +/- 4 mm Hg (P less than 0.001). This fall in AP was transient, with return of AP to 110 +/- 4 mm Hg within 15 minutes. Administration of saralasin, an angiotensin II antagonist, not only prevented the compensation in AP, but also significantly magnified the maximal hypotensive response seen following d(CH2)5VDAVP (group 4). Discontinuing the saralasin allowed AP to return to baseline. Bilateral nephrectomy (group 5) also prevented the return of AP, further implicating endogenous angiotensin II as the specific mediator of the compensation in AP following d(CH2)5VDAVP administration. These studies clearly demonstrate that circulating AVP contributes to the maintenance of AP during water deprivation in the anesthetized rat. When this vascular action of AVP is blocked, angiotensin II assumes major responsibility for blood pressure regulation in the antidiuretic state.

The relationship of age, keratometry, and miscellaneous physiological factors in hydrogel lens wear.

A retrospective study of 94 soft contact lens patients was performed to determine the relationship of a number of physiological and lens-fitting characteristics. Results yielded only medium to low relationships, the highest correlation being between age, Schirmer, and K readings. Persons with dry and excessively mucoid eyes were found to be older and to have flatter corneas and lower Schirmer results. Older patients also tended to have more acidic tears and a shorter tear film breakup time. The group was studied from three aspects: (1) as a whole to establish means, (2) the relationship of physiological conditions, and (3) the relationship to hydrogel lens surface coating.

Do autistic children come from upper-middle-class parents?

Most studies have reported autistic children as coming from upper social economic status (SES) families. A few studies have not found any such social class bias. In order to resolve these contradictory findings, an empirical study was conducted on a statewide sample of families with autistic children. It was hypothesized that autistic children from high SES families would be associated with seven social class selection factors: (1) early age of onset, (2) early age of treatment admission, (3) normal cognitive potential, (4) complex rituals with maintenance of sameness, (5) long distance traveled for treatment, (6) limited availability of services, and (7) very detailed child history. Factors 1, 5, 6, and 7 distinguished high SES from low SES families in the predicted direction. Implications for research and treatment are discussed.

Rod and cone contribution to the EOG ratio.

The EOG ratio is an established clinical test of retinal function. Since its development by Arden and coworkers in 1962, it has been thought of as simply a rod-medicated response. Using scotopically matched red and blue lights, we found a 24% larger response to the red light than to the blue light, establishing that a cone contribution exists in the EOG ratio of normal subjects.

Semantic organization in deaf and hearing subjects.

Hierarchial cluster analysis of data from the sorting of noun words was used to compare semantic structures in 63 profoundly deaf and 63 hearing adolescents. In the first study, performance differed only for a set of words referring to sounds, where deaf persons have no experience, and not for a set of common noun words and pictures. In the second study, differences between matched sets of high- and low-imaginary words were comparable for 63 deaf and 63 hearing subjects. It is concluded that deaf subjects manifested abstract hierarchical relations and were not dependent on "visual mediators" or hindered by the absence of "acoustic mediators".