The authoritarian as measured by a personality scale: Solid citizen or misfit?

A quota sample (N = 87) in Sydney, Australia, received the Ray “Directiveness” scale—a scale of authoritarianism in behavior inventory format—together with other measures of important social science constructs. Authoritarians were found not to be older, not to be more likely to be males, not to be more likely to be manual workers, not to be less well educated, not to be more likely to vote conservative, not to be more neurotic, and not to be more dogmatic. Instead, they were internally controlled, achievement motivated, and unalienated. These differences from the normal concept of the authoritarian were held to be explainable by the previously demonstrated greater behavioral validity of a personality scale approach to measurement of authoritarianism.     

Intervenous tubercle of lower: True tubercle or normal interatrial fold?

Richard Lower, in 1669, first described the tubercle that now bears his name, calling it the intervenous tubercle located between the fossa ovalis and the superior vena cava. The aim of the study was to confirm the existence of the tubercle as described initially by Lower, adding details of its location, dimensions, and prevalence. We examined 100 formalin-fixed human hearts. In no heart did we find any discrete tubercle or elevation of the right atrial wall superior to the superior limbus (rim) of the fossa ovalis. In addition, we could find no morphometric differences in the thickness of the area superior to the superior limbus of the fossa. Dissections revealed that very little of the extensive musculature can be removed without opening the right atrial wall and arriving outside the heart. This is the essential criterion in distinguishing folds from "true" septal structures. When viewed in this light, it is only the flap valve of the fossa ovalis, and its immediate muscular infero-anterior rim, the so-called lower limbus, that can be removed so as to create communications between the cavities of the atrial chambers, and not exiting at the same time from the cavities of the heart. This is because the larger part of the muscular borders of the fossa ovalis is no more than an infolding of the atrial walls, which incorporates extracardiac adipose tissue within the fold. Although this process of folding unequivocally produces an intracardiac buttress, namely, the limbuses (rims) of the fossa, the buttress, being an infolding, does not constitute, according to our definition, a true septum. On this basis, we suggest that it is the superior limbus of the fossa ovalis, or the superior interatrial fold, that previously has been considered to represent the intervenous tubercle of Lower.     

Primates: another source of grafts?

The catarrhini primates of the genus Papio, and particularly Papio anubis, may be a source of transplants whose compatibility with the human receptor doesn't induce acute rejection. The risk of zoonosis transmission is not higher than with pig transplants.     

Involuntary subordination or dependency as key dimensions of depressive vulnerability?

Dependency associated with depression involves at least two forms of social behavior: (a) needs for nurturance/protection and close attachment, and an inability to function independently and (b) being (de)valued, fear of disapproval, and social status. In many studies, measures of dependency combine these two dimensions. This paper argues that this has led to confusion on the salient dimensions related to depression. It is suggested that behaviors currently regarded as dependent, and linked to depression, are better understood as forms of involuntary subordination that involve judgments of personal inferiority, and submissive-appeasement behavior. This paper presents preliminary evidence that social status, and its associated features of negative self-other comparisons and submissive behavior, may be particularly relevant to depression.     

Apoptosis or necrosis for tumor immunotherapy: what's in a name?

Here we discuss how the mechanisms by which tumor cells are killed in vivo by gene transfer affects their immunogenicity. Our own work has shown that necrotic cell death induces immunological activation signals which recruit, load, activate and mature appropriate subsets of antigen-presenting cells. In contrast, for apoptotic cell death to be immunogenic, signals additional to cell death alone must be provided within the milieu of the dying tumor. Our conclusion is that the immunogenicity of tumor killing is determined by a combination of factors, including the mechanism of killing, the levels of cell death, the local environment that exists within the dying tumor and, as a result, the nature of the immune/scavenger cells which are present at the time of antigen release. Knowledge of how these factors can influence the immune system and lead to the breaking of tolerance to tumor-associated antigens, can potentially be exploited in the design of effective immunotherapies for cancer using gene transfer.     

PEComa: another member of the MiT tumor family?

We report 2 cases of PEComa, one occurring in the colon of an 11-year-old boy and the other in the bone (fibula) of a 92-year-old woman. Both tumors consisted of nests of large epithelioid cells surrounded by a fibrovascular stroma. The nuclei were large and vesicular, with prominent centrally located nucleoli. The cytoplasm was eosinophilic, with a fine to coarse granularity. Mitoses and individual cell necrosis were infrequent. Immunohistochemically, both tumors showed strong cytoplasmic expression of HMB-45 and intense nuclear positivity for TFE3. To our knowledge, nuclear positivity for TFE3 has been previously reported in only 5 cases of PEComa. Reactivity to this marker suggests that PEComa should be added to the growing list of human tumors of the so-called MiT family gene.     

Caroticotympanic artery: anatomically a normal branch or a variation of the internal carotid artery?

Most investigators consider the caroticotympanic artery to be a normal branch of the petrous portion of the internal carotid artery, although some authors disagree. The present study was conducted on forty human temporal bones removed from adult cadavers of both sexes. Twenty pieces were injected and dissected under a surgical microscope, 10 pieces were injected and submitted to corrosion, and 10 were injected and diaphanized in order to observe the frequency of the caroticotympanic artery in the petrous portion of the internal carotid artery. The caroticotympanic artery was not observed in any of the pieces submitted to microdissection and was observed in only 1 of the pieces (10%) submitted to corrosion and also in 1 of the diaphanized pieces (10%). In both cases, only one artery was present. Based on the present results showing that the rate of occurrence of the caroticotympanic artery was very low by the three techniques utilized (microdissection 0%; corrosion 10%; diaphanization 10%), it is possible to conclude that, anatomically, the artery should be considered as a variation and not as a normal branch of the petrous portion of the internal carotid artery, in agreement with most literature reports.     

Anorexia nervosa: obsessive-compulsive disorder,obsessive-compulsive personality disorder,or neither?

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe and often chronic disorder with uncertain aetiology and poor prognosis. New approaches to the understanding of the disorder are needed in order to aid the development of more effective treatments. Several authors have suggested that AN has a considerable overlap with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and that this may reflect common neurobiological, genetic, or psychological elements. However, more recent studies have suggested that AN may have a closer relationship with obsessive-compulsive personality traits such as those found in obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). In this paper, evidence for links between the three conditions is reviewed, suggestions for further research are outlined and possible implications for the treatment of AN are presented.     

Modulation of V1 activity by shape: image-statistics or shape-based perception?

It is current dogma that neurons in primary visual cortex extract local edges from the scene from which later visual areas reconstruct more meaningful shapes. Recent neuroimaging studies, however, have shown V1 modulations by the degree of structure in the image (shape). These V1 modulations due to the level of shape coherence have been explained in one of two possible ways: due to changes in image statistics or shape-based perceptual influences from higher visual areas. Here we compare both hypotheses using stimuli composed of Gabor arrays constructed to form circular shapes that can be successively degraded by manipulating the orientations of individual Gabors while maintaining local and global statistics. In a first experiment, we confirm that V1 responses are inversely correlated with the degree of structure in the image. In a second experiment, stimulus predictions are compared based on the degree of circular shape or change in the image statistic varied (orientation variance) in the image. We find that these V1 modulations to shape change are correlated with low-level changes in orientation contrast rather than shape perception per se.     

Production of interferon-gamma by myeloid cells--fact or fancy?

Myeloid cells are usually viewed as targets rather than producers of interferon (IFN)-gamma. However, since 1993 several studies have suggested that macrophages and dendritic cells can also secrete IFN-gamma in response to various stimuli, which led to the idea of autocrine myeloid-cell activation in innate immunity. Here, we review this concept in the light of recent findings that illustrate the necessity of specific cell markers, cell purity, sensitive single-cell cytokine detection methods, and of further insights into the developmental origin of myeloid and lymphoid cell lineages. We also discuss the possible function of intracellular IFN-gamma in macrophages and the evidence for a protective role of myeloid IFN-gamma in vivo.     

A rose by any other name: would it smell as sweet?

We examined whether presenting an odor with a positive, neutral, or negative name would influence how people perceive it. In experiment 1, 40 participants rated 15 odors for their pleasantness, intensity, and arousal. In experiment 2, 30 participants passively smelled 10 odors while their skin conductance (SC), heart rate (HR), and sniffing were recorded. We found significant overall effects of odor names on perceived pleasantness, intensity, and arousal. Pleasantness showed the most robust effect of odor names: the same odors were perceived as more pleasant when presented with positive than with neutral and negative names and when presented with neutral than with negative names. In addition, odorants were rated as more intense when presented with negative than with neutral and positive names and as more arousing when presented with positive than with neutral names. Furthermore, SC and sniff volumes, but not HR, were modified by odor names, and the SC changes could not be accounted for by sniffing changes. Importantly, odor names presented with odorless water did not produce any effect on skin conductance and sniff volumes, ruling out the possibility that the naming-related findings were triggered by an emotional reaction to odor names. Taken together, these experiments show that there is a lot to a name, at least when it comes to olfactory perception.