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In 1977, a fodder turnip breeding programme was started from seven cultivars with the primary aim of increasing dry-matter yield. The breeding method chosen was population improvement by half-sib family selection on a biennial cycle. Seed production in polythene tunnels with blowflies as pollinators was followed by assessing the resulting progenies in replicated yield trials and observation plots from which plants were selected for the next cycle. Six generations of selection resulted in a population with a yield that was 25% higher than the mean of the initial seven cultivars. This was remarkably close to the predicted superiority of the population, despite a significant discrepancy in one generation. It is concluded that the greatest response to selection per year would be achieved by selecting eight families from 128 assessed for 1 year in trials at two or three sites with an overall total of six replicates, given a resource limit of 800 plots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes the range of service provision and explores differences in treatment approaches and therapeutic aims, in the 12 countries participating in the European Union collaborative COST B6 Adolescent Project into the treatment of adolescent anorexia nervosa (AN). Following a number of group meetings, two questionnaires were administered, completed and returned by e-mail. The first questionnaire examined features of the services provided, including details of the numbers of patients seen, inpatient admission criteria and aspects of patient management. The second questionnaire contained a list of 13 therapeutic aims, asking respondents to rank in order the six they considered most important in the first weeks of treatment. There was broad agreement between services concerning the need to offer a full spectrum of services in a range of settings. Nevertheless, there were significant differences in approaches, chiefly concerning the readiness to admit to hospital, the use of (individual or family) day units and the focus on weight restoration as opposed to therapeutic engagement. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Introduction Though bladder and bowel control are important developmental milestones in all cultures, the prevalence of enuresis and encopresis has rarely been studied in developing countries despite there being factors in these countries that could affect it. This study reports the prevalence and associations of enuresis and encopresis in children in Kerala, India. Method The parents of 1403 randomly selected 8–12-year-old children were interviewed. The prevalence of enuresis and encopresis was ascertained using Rutter’s A2 scale. Subsamples of children underwent psychiatric, physical and psychometric evaluations. Results Of the children, 18.6% had had an episode of enursis in the past year and 4.3% in the past week. Four per cent had had an episode of encopresis in the past year. Enuresis was associated with parents’ education, physical and psychiatric symptoms in the child, poor academic achievement and lax parental attitudes to toilet training. Encopresis was associated with male sex, physical and psychiatric symptoms, poor academic achievement, early separation and not having a toilet. Discussion The prevalence of enuresis compares with western countries, but encopresis is commoner. The associations of enuresis suggested a multifactorial model in which parental competence was prominent. This study de-emphasized the importance of neurodevelopmental factors in enuresis and encopresis in this age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine for specificity of Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI) ratings and differences in self-reported cognitions and clinical outcome between adolescent cases of anorexia nervosa (AN) with and without comorbid depression. Method: Thirty-five subjects with AN and matched psychiatric and community controls received the EDI and a structured diagnostic interview. AN subjects were followed up at 1 and 2 years using the EDI and a semistructured interview to assess outcome. Results: Subjects with AN and those with other psychiatric disorders scored similarly on the EDI. Differences between AN cases and community controls were marked for comorbid cases but rare for noncomorbid cases. Comorbid AN cases had an equally good outcome compared to those with AN alone. Discussion: Abnormal cognitions reported in the EDI are much greater in those cases with comorbid depression, but neither the presence of depression nor high EDI scores appears to adversely affect prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of a prospective outcome study, independent life events occurring in the year before onset in 35 consecutive cases of anorexia nervosa were recorded by a semi-structured interview with the subject and a parent. Negative impact and context were rated blind, using the case vignette method. Subjects with anorexia reported intermediate rates of negative life events between community and psychiatric controls. Chronic adversities were common. Negative life events were associated with depressive disorder in controls, but not in those with anorexia. Significant under-reporting of events may occur in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor diabetic control was found in nearly 50% of adolescents attending two paediatric clinics. Adolescents with well and poorly controlled diabetes differed in reported parental involvement in their diabetic regime. There was little association between glycaemic control and family functioning using the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD) whether rated by adolescent or a parent. Neither did sufferers with diabetes differ from families of matched community controls according to the FAD overall though the families of well controlled diabetics were more likely than the other two groups to score themselves in the unhealthy range on the subscale of global functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notions of 'early-onset' and 'prepubertal' anorexia nervosa are reviewed, with particular reference to the role of the pubertal process within the condition. A database of 650 female cases is utilized to identify a small sub-group ( n= 30) who developed the condition before the menarche. Many clinical, familial, social and precipitating factors distinguish this group from post-pubertal cases as a whole, and a sub-group of post-menarcheal cases ( n= 42) matched for age. An explanation for previous inconsistent findings in'early-onset' and 'prepubertal' anorexia nervosa is advanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]