The extent and nature of family alcohol and drug use: Findings from the Belfast Youth Development Study

Using data from an ongoing longitudinal study of adolescent drug use, this study examines the proportion of teenagers living with parents who are problem alcohol or drug users. Around two percent of parents report high levels of problem drinking and one per cent report problem drug use. If a broader definition of hazardous drinking is used, the proportion of teenagers exposed increases to over 15 per cent. When substance use is examined at a family level (taking account of alcohol and drug use amongst dependent children in addition to that of parents), the proportion of families experiencing some form of substance use is considerable. These findings add further support to the call for increased recognition of the needs of dependent children within adult treatment services when working with parents. Likewise, the reduction of harm to children as a result of parent substance use should be an increasingly important priority for family support services. This is likely to be achieved through the closer integration of addiction and family services.

School-related predictors of smoking, drinking and drug use: Evidence from the Belfast Youth Development Study

Objective

To examine whether students’ school engagement, relationships with teachers, educational aspirations and involvement in fights at school are associated with various measures of subsequent substance use.
Methods

Data were drawn from the Belfast Youth Development Study (n = 2968). Multivariate logistic models examined associations between school-related factors (age 13/14) and substance use (age 15/16).
Results

The two factors which were consistently and independently associated with regular substance use among both males and females were student–teacher relationships and fighting at school: positive teacher-relationships reduced the risk of daily smoking by 48%, weekly drunkenness by 25%, and weekly cannabis use by 52%; being in a fight increased the risk of daily smoking by 54%, weekly drunkenness by 31%, and weekly cannabis use by 43%. School disengagement increased the likelihood of smoking and cannabis use among females only.
Conclusion

Further research should focus on public health interventions promoting positive relationships and safety at school.

The identification of potential alternative biomarkers of nitrofurazone abuse in animal derived food products

Semicarbazide (SEM) was considered to be a characteristic protein-bound side-chain metabolite of the banned veterinary drug nitrofurazone and used as a marker of nitrofurazone abuse. It was recently discovered that SEM can arise in food from sources other than nitrofurazone. This uncertainty over the source of SEM may be overcome if alternative markers specific to tissue-bound nitrofurazone residues can be determined. The structure of nitrofurazone metabolites in vivo and particular proteins to which they are bound are not known. These proteins with altered structure due to the presence of the drug metabolites can be considered as potential alternative biomarkers of nitrofurazone abuse. The proteins implicated in the in vivo binding of nitrofurazone were separated and identified. A crude mixture of proteins extracted from the liver of a rat treated with the drug was separated using a series of different techniques such as preparative isoelectric focusing and size exclusion HPLC. Multiple fractions were assayed by LC-MS/MS to detect the presence of SEM. The proteins containing SEM residues were identified by peptide mass mapping using trypsin digestion and MALDI-TOF. The first protein identified as containing high concentration of SEM was albumin. It was also shown that low molecular weight species within a protein mixture whose main constituent was glutathione S-transferase contained a high concentration of SEM. The chemical composition of these components is under investigation. Preliminary data suggest the SEM forms part of a nitrofurazone metabolite conjugated to glutathione. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Monitoring for clenbuterol abuse in N Ireland 1989-1994

Laboratory testing in N. Ireland for the illegal growth promoting agent, clenbuterol (CBL), is centralized at the Veterinary Sciences Division, Belfast. During the past 6 years a variety of testing schemes have evolved to determine the level of abuse of this drug in the local meat industry.

Nitrofurazone accumulates in avian eyes - a replacement for semicarbazide as a marker of abuse

Intact nitrofurazone is present in whole eyes of chickens fed varying levels of this banned antibiotic and may therefore be used as an alternative to the controversial marker residue, semicarbazide, to monitor for abuse of this drug in primary production.

Proteomic identification of plasma proteins as markers of growth promoter abuse in cattle

Growth-promoting agents are continually misused for increasing animal growth and fraudulent gain in the meat industry, yet detection rates from conventional targeted testing for drug residues do not reflect this. This is because testing currently relies on direct detection of drugs or related metabolites and administrators of such compounds can take adaptive measures to avoid detection through the use of endogenous or unknown drugs, and low dose or combined mixtures. New detection methods are needed which focus on the screening of biological responses of an animal to such growth-promoting agents as it has been demonstrated that genomic, proteomic and metabolomics profiles are altered by xenobiotic intake. Therefore, an untargeted proteomics approach using comparative two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) was carried out to identify putative proteins altered in plasma after treatment with oestradiol, dexamethasone or prednisolone. Twenty-four male cattle were randomly assigned to four groups (n = 6) for experimental treatment over 40 days, namely a control group of non-treated cattle, and three groups administered 17β-oestradiol-3-benzoate (0.01 mg/kg, intramuscular), dexamethasone sodium phosphate (0.7 mg/day, per os) or prednisolone acetate (15 mg/day, per os), respectively. Plasma collected from each animal at day 25 post study initiation was subjected to proteomic analysis by 2DE for comparison of protein expression between treated and untreated animals. Analysis of acquired gel images revealed 22 plasma proteins which differed in expression by more than 50 % (p < 0.05) in treated animals compared to untreated animals. Proteins of interest underwent identification by LC–MS/MS analysis and were found to have associated roles in transport, blood coagulation, immune response and metabolism pathways. In this way, seven proteins are highlighted as novel biomarker candidates including transthyretin which is shown to be significantly increased in all treatment groups compared to control animals and potentially may find use as global markers of suspect anabolic practice.

Young Men and Domestic Abuse

Surveys reveal that domestic abuse is more commonplace among teenagers and young adults than older populations, yet surprisingly little is written about young men’s involvement in it. Reporting on a three-year study based in the UK, this book explores young men’s involvement in domestic abuse, whether as victims, perpetrators or witnesses to violent behaviors between adults. Original survey data, focus group material and in-depth biographical interviews are used to make the case for a more thoroughgoing engagement with the meanings young men come to attribute to violent behavior, include the tendency among many to configure violence within families as "fights" that call for acts of male heroism. The book also highlights the dearth of services interventions for young men prone to domestic abuse, and the challenges of developing responsive practice in this area. Each section of the book highlights further online resources that those looking to conduct research in this area or apply its insights in practice can draw upon.

Metabolomics reveals novel biomarkers of illegal 5-nitromimidazole treatment in pigs. Further evidence of drug toxicity uncovered

The aim of the study was to investigate the potential of a metabolomics platform to distinguish between pigs treated with ronidazole, dimetridazole and metronidazole and non-medicated animals (controls), at two withdrawal periods (day 0 and 5). Livers from each animal were biochemically profiled using UHPLC–QTof-MS in ESI+ mode of acquisition. Several Orthogonal Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis models were generated from the acquired mass spectrometry data. The models classified the two groups control and treated animals. A total of 42 ions of interest explained the variation in ESI+. It was possible to find the identity of 3 of the ions and to positively classify 4 of the ionic features, which can be used as potential biomarkers of illicit 5-nitroimidazole abuse. Further evidence of the toxic mechanisms of 5-nitroimidazole drugs has been revealed, which may be of substantial importance as metronidazole is widely used in human medicine.