The use of machine punch cards and their mode of processing in the framework of studies of large groups of patients]

The authors describe the use of machine punch cards in the framework of the examination of a great group of subjects and present a processing scheme. They advocate the use of this technique in case of abundance of informations and relatively simple questions.     

Distorted body image in bulimic women

Fifteen bulimic women (DSM III) and 15 women with no indication of an eating disorder, matched pairwise with respect to age, weight and height, were assessed via a distorting video image technique under four conditions. They were asked to: (1) estimate the width of a water bottle, (2) estimate the width of their own body, (3) repeat those estimates under a condition of reward for high accuracy, (4) focus attention on their bodily sensations and indicate how wide their body felt. While groups did not differ in their estimates under condition 1 (water bottle), significant differences were found between groups under conditions 2, 3 and 4 (own body), the percentage of overestimating being highest when subjects were to indicate how wide their body felt. Results suggest that modalities of perception other than visual are strongly involved in the body image distortion of bulimics.     

Frequency and prevalence of anomalies in shape, number and structure in locally limited disorders of the odontogenesis

Anomalies in shape, number and structure of deciduous and permanent teeth in patients with different kinds of clefts are a sign of a disturbed developmental process. Their localisation, typically in the immediate vicinity of the cleft formation, and their exclusive presence at the upper medium and lateral incisors led to the presumption of a direct correlation with the genesis of the cleft formation. An early preventive individual care and the consequent complex stomatological therapy are a prerequisite for the realization of the morphological, functional and aesthetic conditions that effectively assist in the social accommodation of patients with different kinds of clefts.     

Dysfunctional cognitions, attributional style, and depression bulimia

A group of 44 bulimic women (DSM-III) as well as 38 women with no indication of an eating disorder, comparable with respect to age, weight and height, were studied by mean sof the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Dysfunctional Attitute Scale (DAS), the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ), and an Eating Disorder Questionnaire (EDQ),. Bulimics showed significantly higher BDI, DAS and ASQ (bad events) score, respectively. In both BDI cores were significantly correlated with DAS and ASQ (events) results. BDI was highly predictive of severity of bulimia while no significant prediction was obtained from either DAS or ASQ (bad events) scores. The findings provide first evidence that dysfunctional attitudes and dpressive and depressive attributional style are predominant i bulimic women but at the same time are not necessarily predictive of the severity of the disorder.     

A statistical analysis of the release of acetylcholine at newly formed synapses in striated muscle

1. A statistical analysis has been made of the changes in the binomial parameters n and p during transmitter release from motor-nerve terminals when synapses are forming in either regenerating or reinnervated mammalian muscle.2. The amplitude-frequency distribution of e.p.p.s evoked by a single impulse was well predicted by binomial statistics at all junctions analysed allowing values of n and p to be determined. At most of these junctions, p > 0.5 and Poisson statistics did not predict the observed distributions at all.3. During the changes in quantal content which occur during short trains of impulses or during continual stimulation over minutes, no significant change in p was detected. Changes in quantal content of the e.p.p. were therefore determined by n.     

Screening of tabacco smoke constituents for mutagenicity using the Ames' test

To clarify the mutagenic activity of individual smoke components, 239 compounds, representative of the gaseous and semivolatile phases of tobacco smoke, were assayed for mutagenicity towards 4 histidine-requiring mutants of Salmonella typhimurium (TA 98, TA 100, TA 1535 and TA 1537). All compounds were tested qualitatively both with and without metabolic activation using a liver fraction (S-9) from Aroclor 1254 or methylcholanthrene induced rats. Without S-9, only 2,3-dimethylindole and 2,3,5-trimethylindole showed mutagenic activity that was not enhanced by hte metabolic activation system. 2,6-Diaminotoluene and coronene, which like the above compounds are not documented carcinogens were found to be mutagenic for strain TA 98 with S-9. Mutagenic activity was also observed for the previously known mutagens benz[a]pyrene, chrysene, benz[a]-anthracene, perylene and β-naphthylamine, on exposure to strains TA 98 and/or TA 100 with S-9.     

Use of 19F NMR spectroscopy for measurement of cerebral blood flow: a comparative study using microspheres

19F NMR was used to determine washout curves of an inert, diffusible gas (CHF3) from the cat brain. The cerebral blood flow was estimated from a bi- or tri-phasic fit to the deconvoluted wash-out curve, using the Kety-Schmidt approach. Cerebral blood flow values determined by 19F NMR show the expected responsiveness to alterations in Paco2, but are approximately 28% lower than cerebral blood flow values determined simultaneously by radioactive microsphere techniques. High concentrations of CHF3 have little effect on intracranial pressure, mean arterial blood pressure or Paco2, but cause small changes in the blood flow to certain regions of the brain. We conclude that 19F NMR techniques utilizing low concentrations of CHF3 have potential for the noninvasive measurement of cerebral blood flow.     

Exposure to internal and external stimuli: Reactions in children of patients with panic disorder or animal phobia

One aim of this study was to investigate whether children of parents with panic disorder (CPAN) (n = 27) respond with higher levels of anxiety to internal stimuli (caused by voluntary hyperventilation) than children of parents with animal phobia (CPHOB) (n = 21) or children of healthy control parents (CCON) (n = 29). To test the specificity of the hypothesis, the second aim was to assess whether CPHOB respond with higher increases in fear to an external (i.e., phobic) stimulus (spider) than both CPAN and CCON. Subjective anxiety and heart rate were assessed throughout the experiment. Contrary to expectation, all three groups of children reacted to hyperventilation with significant increases in subjective anxiety and heart rate. CPAN did not respond with stronger anxiety reactions than other children to hyperventilation, nor did they show higher increases in heart rate. However, more of the CPAN prematurely terminated the hyperventilation task. When children were not divided according to parental diagnoses, but rather with respect to their own initial level of reported fear of physical symptoms (anxiety sensitivity), those with higher levels of fear showed higher increases in subjective anxiety to the hyperventilation task. As for the spider confrontation, CPHOB reacted with significantly higher increases in subjective fear than both CPAN and CCON.     

Thapsigargin resistance in human prostate cancer cells

BACKGROUND: Thapsigargin (TG) is a potent inhibitor of sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPases (SERCAs). TG-based prodrugs are being developed for the treatment of prostate cancer (PC). To develop optimal TG-based therapeutics it is important to understand the mechanisms of resistance to TG that may potentially occur in cancer cells. METHODS: DU145/TG and PC3/TG cells were derived from human PC DU145 and PC3 cells, respectively, by incremental exposure to TG. Growth assays, Western blot analyses, cDNA microarrays, semiquantitative and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Northern blot analyses, and immunohistochemistry were used to study these cells. RESULTS: DU145/TG cells are 1100-fold and PC3/TG cells are 1350-fold resistant to TG. Although expression of both SERCA and p-glycoprotein can mediate TG resistance in hamster cells, neither is modulated in DU145/TG cells. In contrast, in PC3/TG cells, SERCA, and not p-glycoprotein, is significantly overexpressed but cannot by itself account for the 1350-fold resistance to TG in these cells. Several genes not previously identified to be altered by TG selection are modulated in DU145/TG and PC3/TG cells. Furthermore, the spectrum of genes modulated in DU145/TG cells are distinct from that in PC3/TG cells, even though both cells are of prostate origin and share the same TG-resistant phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: PC cells can adapt to SERCA inhibition by TG. However, they demonstrate cell type-specific plasticity with respect to gene expression upon TG selection. Further, previously not described mechanisms of resistance appear to be recruited in the TG-resistant PC cells, which provide a novel model to study mechanisms of resistance and adaptation in PC on TG-mediated dysregulation of Ca2+ homeostasis.