Affective and physiological responses to environmental noises and music.

Research suggests that respiratory patterns may reflect general dimensions of emotional response. In this study, we investigated the relationships between judgments of affective valence (pleasantness) and arousal and respiratory responses to acoustic stimuli. Sixteen environmental noises and 16 musical fragments of 30 s duration were presented to 31 participants, while respiration, skin conductance level and heart rate were recorded. Judgments of valence and arousal were registered using the 9-point Self-Assessment Manikin. For noises, breathing accelerated and minute ventilation augmented with decreases in pleasantness for low-arousal stimuli and with increases in arousal for positive stimuli. For music, breathing accelerated and minute ventilation augmented with increases both in rated valence and arousal. Skin conductance level increased with arousal ratings for music but not for noises, whereas mean heart rate increased with rated arousal for noises but not for music. Although both noises and music are sound-vibrations, differences in the relationships between affective judgments and physiological responses were found suggesting differences in the processing of the two types of acoustic stimuli.     

A Drosophila melanogaster hobo-white+ vector mediates low frequency gene transfer in D. virilis with full interspecific white+ complementation

Transformation of a Drosophila virilis white mutant host strain was attempted using a hobo vector containing the D. melanogaster mini-white⁺ cassette (H[w⁺, hawN]) and an unmodified or heat shock regulated hobo transposase helper. Two transformant lines were recovered with the unmodified helper (HFL1), one containing only the white⁺ marked vector, and a sibling line containing the vector as well as an HFL1 helper integration. An approximate total transformation frequency of 1% is deduced. A high frequency of wing and eye morphology mutants were also observed, suggesting that hobo may have mobilized a related element in D. virilis. The data reaffirms a relatively low transformation vector activity for the hobo transposon in D. virilis; however, nearly full interspecific expression of the white⁺ marker supports its possible function in other species as well.     

Acute epidural hematoma: an analysis of factors influencing the outcome of patients undergoing surgery in coma

Mortality due to epidural hematoma is virtually restricted to patients who undergo surgery for that condition while in coma. The authors have analyzed the factors influencing the outcome of 64 patients who underwent epidural hematoma evacuation while in coma. These patients represented 41% of the 156 patients operated on for epidural hematoma at their centers after the introduction of computerized tomography (CT). Eighteen patients (28.1%) died, two (3.1%) became severely disabled, and 44 (68.8%) made a functional recovery. The mortality rate for the entire series was 12%, significantly lower than the 30% rate observed when only angiographic studies were available. A significant correlation was found between the final result and the mechanism of injury, the interval between trauma and surgery, the motor score at operation, the hematoma CT density (homogeneous vs. heterogeneous), and the hematoma volume. The patient's age, the course of consciousness before operation (whether there was a lucid interval), and the clot location did not correlate with the final outcome. The mortality rate was significantly higher in patients operated on within 6 hours or between 6 and 12 hours after injury than in those undergoing surgery 12 to 48 hours after injury. Compared with the patients operated on later, the patients undergoing surgery in the early period were, on the average, older and had more rapidly developing symptoms, more pupillary changes, lower motor scores at surgery, larger hematomas, a higher incidence of mixed CT density clots, more severe associated intracranial lesions, and higher postoperative intracranial pressure (ICP). The mechanism of trauma seems to influence the course of consciousness before and after surgery. Passengers injured in traffic accidents had a lower incidence of a lucid interval and longer postoperative coma than patients with low-speed trauma, suggesting more frequent association of diffuse white matter-shearing injury. The duration of postoperative coma correlated with the morbidity rate in survivors. Forty-eight patients (75%) had one or more associated intracranial lesions, and 70% of these required treatment for elevation of ICP after hematoma evacuation. An ICP of over 35 mm Hg strongly correlated with poor outcome; administration of high-dose barbiturates was the only effective means for lowering ICP in nine of 15 patients who developed severe intracranial hypertension after surgery. This study attempts to identify patients at greater risk for presenting postoperative complications and to define a strategy for control CT scanning and ICP monitoring.     

Neuronal vacuole formation in the rat posterior cingulate/retrosplenial cortex after treatment with the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist MK-801 (dizocilpine maleate)

Cytoplasmic vacuoles appear in neurons of the posterior cingulate/retrosplenial cortex (PC/RS) of rats after treatment with N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists. Prominent dilatation of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum has been described within 2 h; however, the ultrastructural features of vacuole formation are unknown. To investigate this, the present study examined the PC/RS cortex of male rats (age 60–70 days) at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 min after subcutaneous treatment with 1 mg/kg of the noncompetitive NMDA antagonist MK-801 (dizocilpine maleate, 5-methyl-10, 11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo [a,d] cyclohepten-5,10-imine). Subtle mitochondrial dilatation was identified in a few neurons as early as 15 min postdose (MPD). By 30 MPD, dilatation was more pronounced in mitochondria and also involved the endoplasmic reticulum and perinuclear space. Ribosomal disaggregation and degranulation were also evident by 30 MPD. At all subsequent time points, dilatation of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum progressed in severity. Although the relative involvement of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum varied, glia were not involved. These ultrastructural data suggest that after treatment with MK-801, mitochondrial dilatation precedes involvement of endoplasmic reticulum in vacuolization of susceptible PC/RS cortical neurons. The early mitochondrial effects identified in this study suggest an initial metabolic insult that rapidly progresses to affect endoplasmic reticulum and ribosomes. This strengthens the relationship between the ability of certain NMDA antagonists to induce energy perturbations and neuronal vacuoles in the same region of the rat cerebral cortex.     

Matrix vesicles are enriched in metalloproteinases that degrade proteoglycans

Summary This study examined the presence of extracellular matrix processing enzymes in matrix vesicles produced by rat costochondral resting zone and growth zone chondrocytes in culture. Optimum procedures for the extraction of each enzyme activity were determined. Enzyme activity associated with chondrocyte plasma membrane microsomes was used for comparison. There was a differential distribution of the enzyme activities related to the cartilage zone from which the cells were isolated. Acid and neutral metalloproteinase (TIMP), plasminogen activator, and betaglucuronidase were highest in the growth zone chondrocyte (GC) membrane fractions when compared with matrix vesicles and plasma membranes isolated from resting zone chondrocyte (RC) cultures. There was a threefold enrichment of total and active acid metalloproteinase in GC matrix vesicles, whereas no enrichment in enzyme activity was observed in RC matrix vesicles. Total and active neutral metalloproteinase were similarly enriched twofold in GC matrix vesicles. TIMP, plasminogen activator, and betaglucuronidase activities were highest in the plasma membranes of both cell types. No collagenase, lysozyme, or hyaluronidase activity was found in any of the membrane fractions. The data indicate that matrix vesicles are selectively enriched in enzymes which degrade proteoglycans. The highest concentrations of these enzymes are found in matrix vesicles produced by growth zone chondrocytes, suggesting that this may be a mechanism by which the more differentiated cell modulates the matrix for calcification.     

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) in idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis

Four children were diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis (IPH), over a period of 4 years. Retrospectively, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) were studied by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and ELISA in 18 sera from these patients, stored at -20°C. ANCA-positive sera, from 1/20 to 1/1, 200 dilution, were found in 3/4 of the patients, by IIF. The patient with the highest titre of ANCA died 3 months later during an acute crisis, the other two patients need a minimal dose of steroids. In one case only, a patient who is still without treatment, had no ANCA. The antibodies anti-myeloperoxidase and anti-pro-teinase-3 were negative or at border line levels. Rheumatoid factor, anti-nuclear (Hep-2), anti-endomysial, anti-reticulin and antibasement membrane antibodies were negative in all sera. The surviving patients were followed-up for more than 10 years with no systemic or renal disease appearences. The presence of serum ANCA may help to classify children with pulmonary haemorrhage and may have a prognostic value.     

Effect of intervention to improve breastfeeding technique on the frequency of exclusive breastfeeding and lactation-related problems.

This randomized clinical trial compared frequencies of exclusive breastfeeding and lactation-related problems during the first 30 days among 74 mothers who received a 30-minute counseling session on breastfeeding technique in the maternity ward, and 137 controls. The frequency of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers who had received intervention was similar to controls by 7 days (79.7% vs 82.5%, respectively) and 30 days (60.8% vs 53.3%). There was no difference between groups in the frequency of sore nipples at 7 and 30 days, in breast engorgement and mastitis, and in the quality of breastfeeding technique at 30 days. Therefore, a single intervention at maternity was not sufficient to improve breastfeeding technique, increase exclusive breastfeeding rates, and reduce the incidence of breastfeeding problems during the first month.     

Cerebral lateralization and color perception: a transcranial Doppler study.

Eight normal subjects were examined in dark, light and color conditions. Mean cerebral blood flow velocity (MBFV) were recorded almost simultaneously from their posterior cerebral arteries (PCA) using transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound. The side-to-side difference was significant during the dark (p = 0.0159) and color stimulation (p = 0.0001) but not in light condition. This side-to-side difference in MBFV was used to characterize lateralization of color perception. This showed that the right PCA was always greater than the left during the presentation of color stimuli. Primary psychological colors (blue, yellow, red and green) induced greater lateralization as compared with color resulting from a mixed blue-green wavelength. This suggests that the right visual cortex is selectively sensitive to wavelengths.