Adjustment in Childhood Brain Tumor Survival: Child, Mother, and Teacher Report

Examined the adjustment of 6- to 18-year-old children and adolescents(n = 38) 2 to 5 years postdiagnosis of brain tumor with respectto standardized measures of anxiety and depression; self-perceptions;and adaptive living skills. Child, mother, and teacher reportdata were used. Maternal adjustment (anxiety and depression,parenting stress) was also assessed. Children and adolescentssurviving brain tumors reported themselves to be generally withinthe normal range. However, maternal ratings of social problemswere higher than normative scores and significantly lower thannorms on social problems, scholastic competence, and communicationskills. Teacher ratings on the Teacher Rating Form were allwithin normal limits. Maternal adjustment measures were withinthe normal range, although the Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interactionsubscale of the Parenting Stress Index was elevated. No differencesin scores were found between children in regular and specialeducation, or between children who had received radiation andthose who did not. This sample of survivors of pediatric braintumors and their mothers had relatively mild problems in adjustment,supporting a competency-based view of the adaptation of pediatricpatients and their families.     

Intraventricular insulin and leptin reverse place preference conditioned with high-fat diet in rats

The authors hypothesized that insulin and leptin, hormones that convey metabolic and energy balance status to the central nervous system (CNS), decrease the reward value of food, as assessed by conditioned place preference (CPP). CPP to high-fat diet was blocked in ad-lib fed rats given intraventricular insulin or leptin throughout training and test or acutely before the test. Insulin or leptin given only during the training period did not block CPP. Thus, elevated insulin and leptin do not prevent learning a food's reward value, but instead block its retrieval. Food-restricted rats receiving cerebrospinal fluid, insulin, or leptin had comparable CPPs. Results indicate that the CNS roles of insulin and leptin may include processes involving memory and reward.     

Recent changes among human influenza viruses

Recurrent epidemics of influenza are due to the frequent emergence of antigenic variants. With co-circulation of two influenza A subtypes and two antigenically distinct lineages of B viruses, genetic reassortment also has an important role in antigenic drift, as illustrated by recent changes in both A and B viruses. The H1N2 subtype viruses, which emerged during 2001, possessed a H1 HA similar to those of contemporary A/New Caledonia/20/99 (H1N1)-like viruses and seven genes closely related to those of recent H3N2 viruses, and did not represent a significant increase in the antigenic diversity of circulating viruses. The re-emergence of B/Victoria/2/87-lineage viruses, previously prevalent during the 1980s, in 2000 has been followed by the predominant circulation of reassortant B viruses possessing a B/Victoria-lineage HA and a B/Yamagata-lineage NA similar in sequence to those of recent B/Sichuan/379/99-like viruses. These events emphasize not only the lack of divergence in the complementary functional characteristics of the HA and NA of divergent influenza B lineages, but also the apparent convergence in compatibility between the H1 and N2 components of the two influenza A subtypes.     

Nationwide epidemic of septicemia caused by contaminated intravenous products: mechanisms of intrinsic contamination.

Between 1 July 1970 and April 1971, in many hospitals in this country, there were outbreaks of nosocomial septicemia caused by Enterobacter cloacae of E. agglomerans (formerly Erwinia, herbicola-lathyri). All of these hospitals used infusion products manufactured by one company, Abbott Laboratories, and all affected patients had onset of septicemia while receiving the company's infusion products. Septicemia was epidemiologically and microbiologically traced to intrinsic contamination of the company's screw-cap closure for infusion bottles which was sealed with a newly introduced elastomer liner. Epidemic organisms were isolated from these closures. Investigations both in the laboratory and in the manufacturing plant into the mechanism of contamination of these products revealed the following. (i) Epidemic strains were present in numerous areas throughout the manufacturing plants. (ii) Viable microorganisms gained access to the interior of screw-cap closures after the autoclave step of production. (iii) Cooling closures actively drew moisture through the thread interstices into the inner-most depths of the closure. (iv) Transfer of contaminants from closures to fluid was easily effected by simple manipulations duplicating normal in-hospital use. (v) The red-rubber liner used in the company's screw-cap closures before the introduction of elastomer contained a broad-spectrum antimicrobial inhibitor. The findings from this epidemic and the associated studies show that the screw-cap closure as it is now designed cannot be considered secure for products that must remain sterile.     

Effect of temperature, pH, and ions on sweet taste

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effects of temperature (50 degrees C and 6 degrees C), pH (pH 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6. 0, and 7.0) and the addition of monovalent and divalent cations (5 mM Na(+), 5 mM K(+), and 5 mM Ca(2)+ ) on the sweetness intensity ratings of sweeteners ranging widely in chemical structure. A trained panel provided intensity evaluations for prototypical tastes (sweet, bitter, sour, and salty) as well as aromatic and mouth-feel attributes. The following sweeteners were included in this experiment: three sugars (fructose, glucose, sucrose), three terpenoid glycosides (monoammonium glycyrrhizinate, rebaudioside-A, stevioside), two polyhydric alcohols (mannitol, sorbitol), two dipeptide derivatives (alitame, aspartame), two N-sulfonylamides (acesulfame-K, sodium saccharin), one sulfamate (sodium cyclamate), one protein (thaumatin), one dihydrochalcone (neohesperidin dihydrochalcone), and one chlorodeoxysugar (sucralose). Two to five levels of each sweetener reflecting a range of sweetness intensities were tested, using formulae developed by DuBois et al. The main finding from this three-part study was that temperature, pH, and ions had little effect on perceived sweetness intensity. Even when significant differences were found in the temperature study, the effects were very small.     

An investigation into the relationship between salivary cortisol,stress, anxiety and depression

This study examined the relationship between indices of self-reported emotional distress and absolute versus change in cortisol levels. Fifty-four women attending a diagnostic breast clinic completed scales measuring stress, anxiety and depression and provided five saliva samples over the course of a single day for the measurement of cortisol. No significant relationships were evident between absolute cortisol levels and the distress measures. Analysis of the change in cortisol levels revealed a non-linear interaction effect between stress and anxiety and time of day. There was a non-linear relation between time of day and cortisol levels, but the extent of the non-linearity was dependent upon levels of stress and anxiety, not depression. A relationship was apparent between indices of distress and change in cortisol levels, but not absolute levels of the hormone.     

The utility of MMPI subtle, obvious scales for detecting fake good and fake bad response sets

The MMPI was administered twice to 40 graduate students to determine the utility of the Weiner subtle and obvious scales (D, HY, PD, PA, MA) for estimating how fake good and fake bad response sets might influence full scale scores. The first time, the MMPI was administered under standard conditions. Subjects then were divided randomly into two groups: fake good (complete MMPI for job application) and fake bad (qualify for psychotherapy). There were significant multivariate test effects (standard vs. response set) for the raw scores of all five obvious, subtle, and full scales. However, when raw scores were converted to T scores to ascertain practical significance, the obvious scales appeared to provide the most useful information to enhance the interpretation of full scale scores in normal populations.     

Clinical evaluation of the Pollenex BP-850 automatic sphygmomanometer

Eighty subjects were assigned to two conditions in which readings of blood pressure were taken simultaneously by an observer using a Hawkesley Random Zero Sphygmomanometer and by a Pollenex BP-850 Automatic Sphygmomanometer either in its standard form or silenced to stop it bleeping whilst recording blood pressure. Forty subjects were assigned to a comparison group, where simultaneous readings by two observers were taken from one Hawkesley. Analyses performed included correlations, t-tests, and Bland and Altman's (Lancet, 1986, i: 307-310) differences against the mean method. Cues from observer behaviours or the bleeping Pollenex resulted in higher concordance between measures in the standard condition and the Hawkesley comparison condition. However, even in the silent condition the Pollenex proved to be as reliable a monitor of blood pressure as the Hawkesley.     

Functional expression and properties of the human skeletal muscle sodium channel

Full-length deoxyribonucleic acid, complementary (cDNA) constructs encoding the-subunit of the adult human skeletal muscle Na⁺ channel, hSkM1, were prepared. Functional expression was studied by electrophysiological recordings from cRNA-injectedXenopus oocytes and from transiently transfected tsA201 cells. The Na⁺ currents of hSkM1 had abnormally slow inactivation kinetics in oocytes, but relatively normal kinetics when expressed in the mammalian cell line. The inactivation kinetics of Na⁺ currents in oocytes, during a depolarization, were fitted by a weighted sum of two decaying exponentials. The time constant of the fast component was comparable to that of the single component observed in mammalian cells. The block of hSkM1 Na⁺ currents by the extracellular toxins tetrodotoxin (TTX) and -conotoxin (CTX) was measured. The IC₅₀ values were 25 nM (TTX) and 1.2 M (CTX) in oocytes. The potency of TTX is similar to that observed for the rat homolog rSkM1, but the potency of CTX is 22-fold lower in hSkM1, primarily due to a higher rate of toxin dissociation in hSkM1. Single-channel recordings were obtained from outside-out patches of oocytes expressing hSkM1. The single-channel conductance, 24.9 pS, is similar to that observed for rSkM1 expressed in oocytes.