The present study evaluated the efficacy of Familias Unidas + Parent-Preadolescent Training for HIV Prevention (PATH), a Hispanic-specific, parent-centered intervention, in preventing adolescent substance use and unsafe sexual behavior. Two hundred sixty-six 8th-grade Hispanic adolescents and their primary caregivers were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: Familias Unidas + PATH, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) + PATH, and ESOL + HeartPower! for Hispanics (HEART). Participants were assessed at baseline and at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months postbaseline. Results showed that (a) Familias Unidas + PATH was efficacious in preventing and reducing cigarette use relative to both control conditions; (b) Familias Unidas + PATH was efficacious, relative to ESOL + HEART, in reducing illicit drug use; and (c) Familias Unidas + PATH was efficacious, relative to ESOL + PATH, in reducing unsafe sexual behavior. The effects of Familias Unidas + PATH on these distal outcomes were partially mediated by improvements in family functioning. These findings suggest that strengthening the family system, rather than targeting specific health behaviors, may be most efficacious in preventing and/or reducing cigarette smoking, illicit drug use, and unsafe sex in Hispanic adolescents.

The p38 group of kinases belongs to the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase superfamily with structural and functional characteristics distinguishable from those of the ERK, JNK (SAPK), and BMK (ERK5) kinases. Although there is a high degree of similarity among members of the p38 group in terms of structure and activation, each member appears to have a unique function. Here we show that activation of p38␥ (also known as ERK6 or SAPK3), but not the other p38 isoforms, is required for ␥-irradiation-induced G 2 arrest. Activation of the MKK6-p38␥ cascade is sufficient to induce G 2 arrest in cells, and expression of dominant negative alleles of MKK6 or p38␥ allows cells to escape the DNA damage-induce G 2 delay. Activation of p38␥ is dependent on ATM and leads to activation of Cds1 (also known as Chk2). These data suggest a model in which activation of ATM by ␥ irradiation leads to the activation of MKK6, p38␥, and Cds1 and that activation of both MKK6 and p38␥ is essential for the proper regulation of the G 2 checkpoint in mammalian cells.

The EVII gene, located at chromosome band 3q26, is overexpressed in some myeloid leukemia patients with breakpoints either 5' of the gene in the t(3;3)(q21;q26) or 3' of the gene in the inv(3)(q21q26). EVIl is also expressed as part of a fusion transcript with the transcription factorAMLI in the t(3;21)(q26;q22), associated with myeloid leukemia. In cells with t(3;21), additional fusion transcripts are AMLIMDSl andAMLI-MDSI-EV71.MDSJ is located at 3q26 170-400 kb upstream (telomeric) The protooncogene EVI1 was initially identified and described in the mouse. It is activated in murine myeloid leukemia by proviral insertion in the evil common integration site (1, 2). EVIl is not normally expressed in hematopoietic cells. In humans, the gene can be activated in myeloid leukemias and myelodysplastic diseases by chromosomal rearrangements either 5' of the gene in the t(3;3)(q21;q26) or 3' of the gene in the inv(3)(q21q26) by juxtaposition of the gene to enhancer elements of the ribophorin gene located at 3q21 (3-5). Activation of EVIl can also occur in the t(3;21)(q26;q22) as part of the fusion mRNA,AMLl-EV71, that is transcribed from the der(3) chromosome (6, 7). Abnormal expression of EVI1 has also been detected in patients with myeloid leukemia and a cytogenetically normal karyotype (8), suggesting that inappropriate activation of this gene occurs through various mechanisms.EV71 is a nuclear protein containing a seven-zinc-finger domain at the N-terminal end, a three-finger domain in the central part of the molecule, and an acidic domain distal to the second group of zinc fingers (9). The human and mouse open reading frames are 91% homologous at the DNA level and 94% homologous at the amino acid level. The second exon of the gene, in frame although not translated, is highly conserved between the two species. The open reading frame starts in the third exon of the gene, where the first ATG is located (9). A The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact. putative promoter has been identified, by genomic sequencing and Si protection analysis, immediately upstream of the first exon of the murine cDNA (10).MDS1 was cloned as one of the partner genes of AML1 in the t(3;21)(q26;q22), associated with therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome as well as with chronic myeloid leukemia in blast crisis (11,12). In this translocation, AML1, located at 21q22, is fused to several genes, EAP, MDS1, and EVIl, all of which are located at 3q26200-400 kb apart (7), and chimeric cDNAs have been isolated from cells with t(3;21) in which AML1 is fused to EAP, to MDS1, to EVI1, or to MDS1 and EVIl in the same transcript, producing, in the latter case, a very complex chimeric gene. Only the 3' region of MDS1 that is fused to AML1 has been isolated and sequenced. The nature of MDS1 is somewhat controversial; MDS1 has been described as a unique ge...

Objective-To evaluate the efficacy of Familias Unidas, a Hispanic-specific, parent-centered intervention, in preventing/reducing adolescent substance use, unsafe sexual behavior, and externalizing disorders.Methods-A total of 213 8th grade Hispanic adolescents with behavior problems and their primary caregivers were assigned randomly to one of two conditions: Familias Unidas or Community Control. Participants were assessed at baseline and at 6, 18, and 30 months post baseline.Results-Results showed that, relative to a Community Control condition, Familias Unidas was efficacious in preventing or reducing externalizing disorders, preventing and reducing substance use, and in reducing unsafe sexual behavior. The effects of Familias Unidas on these outcomes were partially mediated by improvements in family functioning.Conclusions-These findings suggest that parent-centered intervention is an efficacious strategy for preventing/reducing specific health risk behaviors in Hispanic adolescents with behavior problems.