Although adolescent alcohol use has been consistently associated with parental drinking behavior. sibling drinking behavior and family functioning, the extent to which these associations owe to genetic or shared environmental influences has not been previously investigated. Using an adoption study design, we sought to determine whether the familial correlates of adolescent alcohol involvement were due to common genetic or common environmental effects. Merhodc The sample consisted of 653 adopted families ascertained through adoption agencies in four US. states. Each family consisted of a target adopted adolescent, an adoptive mother and an adoptive father. In addition, 68 birth adolescents (i.e.. biological offspring of the adoptive parents) and 187 second adopted adolescents from these families participated in the study. All participants completed a mail survey that included assessment of drinking behavior and family functioning. Resufrs; The relationship between parental problem drinking and adolescent alcohol involvement was moderate .md stentticant-:cng : nh x?spring (corrected multiple correlation. Rc =%). but-mzil-:d tonsignificant among adoptive offspring (Rc = .oO). T-.< rs!zonr5~: between adolescent alcohol involvement and Family r-~r~or._ng .L> substantial for birth offspring iR= = .

Musculoskeletal injuries have long been a problem in general purpose forces, yet anecdotal evidence provided by medical, human performance, and training leadership suggests musculoskeletal injuries are also a readiness impediment to Special Operations Forces (SOF). The purpose of this study was to describe the injury epidemiology of SOF utilizing self-reported injury histories. Data were collected on 106 SOF (age: 31.7 ± 5.3 years, height: 179.0 ± 5.5 cm, mass: 85.9 ± 10.9 kg) for 1 year before the date of laboratory testing and filtered for total injuries and those with the potential to be preventable based on injury type, activity, and mechanism. The frequency of musculoskeletal injuries was 24.5 injuries per 100 subjects per year for total injuries and 18.9 injuries per 100 subjects per year for preventable injuries. The incidence of musculoskeletal injuries was 20.8 injured subjects per 100 subjects per year for total injuries and 16.0 injured subjects per 100 subjects per year for preventable injuries. Preventable musculoskeletal injuries comprised 76.9% of total injuries. Physical training (PT) was the most reported activity for total/preventable injuries (PT Command Organized: 46.2%/60.0%, PT Noncommand Organized: 7.7%/10.0%, PT Unknown: 3.8%/5.0%). Musculoskeletal injuries impede optimal physical readiness/tactical training in the SOF community. The data suggest a significant proportion of injuries are classified as preventable and may be mitigated with human performance programs.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) has gained considerable notoriety during the past decade of conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, the relationship between combat-related mTBI and residual mTBI symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and neurocognitive deficits remains unclear. The purpose of the study was to compare residual mTBI and PTSD symptoms, and neurocognitive deficits among U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) personnel with diagnosed blunt, blast, and blast-blunt combination mTBIs. This study involved a retrospective medical records review of 27,169 USASOC personnel who completed a military version of the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment Cognitive Test (ImPACT), Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS), and PTSD Checklist (PCL) between November 2009 and December 2011. Of the 22,203 personnel who met criteria for the study, 2,813 (12.7%) had a diagnosis of at least one mTBI. A total of 28% (n=410) of USASOC personnel with a history of diagnosed mTBI reported clinical levels of PTSD symptoms. Personnel with a history of diagnosed blunt (OR=3.58), blast (OR=4.23) or combination (OR=5.73) mTBI were at significantly (p=0.001) greater risk of reporting clinical levels of PTSD symptoms than those with no history of mTBI. A dose-response gradient for exposure to blast/combination mTBI on clinical levels of PTSD symptoms was also significant (p=0.001). Individuals with blast/combination mTBIs scored higher in residual mTBI (p=0.001) and PTSD symptoms (p=0.001), and performed worse on tests of visual memory (p=0.001), and reaction time (p=0.001) than those with blunt or no mTBI history. Individuals with combination mTBIs scored lower in verbal memory (p=0.02) than those with blunt mTBIs. Residual PTSD and mTBI symptoms appear to be more prevalent in personnel with blast mTBI. A dose-response gradient for blast mTBI and symptoms suggests that repeated exposures to these injuries may have lingering effects.

We thank Thomas i. Bouchard, Robert Cudeck, and Auke Tellegen for their helpful comments on an earlier version of the article. The research presented was supported in part by Grants R01-MH42620 and K02-AAO0175 from the National Institutes of Health.

Lipase, pancreatic amylase, and total amylase activities were measured in nondiseased and diseased human pancreatic tissues and in six different locations of the human digestive system. In addition, it was determined whether serum lipase and pancreatic amylase tests could replace the total amylase test to improved diagnostic efficiency in the evaluation of acute pancreatitis in hyperamylasemia patients. Nondiseased pancreatic tissue contained 4.5 times more lipase activity than total amylase activity. Diseased pancreatic tissue contained less activity for both lipase and total amylase compared to normal tissue. The total amylase activity of the pancreas was comprised solely of pancreatic amylase. Tissue obtained from six different anatomic locations in the digestive system contained 35 to 45 times less lipase and total amylase activity compared to the pancreas. Total amylase activity of the digestive system tissues were comprised of 25% pancreatic and 75% salivary isoamylases. Lipase, pancreatic amylase, and total amylase levels also were determined in serial serum samples from 17 consecutive hyperamylasemia patients admitted with possible acute pancreatitis. The serum lipase level remained higher than normal longer than either the total amylase and pancreatic amylase levels. In patients with hyperamylasemia of pancreatic origin, a poor correlation was observed at admission between serum pancreatic amylase and serum lipase. Not all patients with elevated lipase had an elevated pancreatic amylase level and vice versa. However, in every patient pancreatic disease would have been detected by the elevation of either lipase or pancreatic amylase levels. Diagnostic efficiency for pancreatic disease using serum pancreatic amylase, lipase, and total amylase tests was 94.1%, 76.5%, and 64.7%, respectively. These data suggest that lipase and pancreatic amylase tests are specific for the pancreas and might be considered replacements for total amylase as the stat or routine laboratory test for the diagnosis of pancreatic tissue injury.