Effect of the number of high-fat and low-fat cues on food choice

This study examined the effects on food choice of increasing the number of healthy items available (fruit) and decreasing the number of unhealthy items available (candy bars). A similar choice, involving nonfood items, was also examined. Two hundred eighty-nine men and women were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 experimental groups: (a) control group, (b) increased number of fruits, (c) decreased number of candy bars, and (d) combination. Between 30% and 40% of participants chose fruit regardless of the amount of fruit and candy presented: there was no effect of increasing fruit or decreasing candy bars. However, restrained participants and current dieters were more likely to choose fruit. In contrast, both stimulus control techniques were effective in increasing the percentage of participants choosing a nonfood item. These results suggest that stimulus control may not be sufficient to modify food choice: other powerful factors affect eating behavior, and these must be considered.     

Cytomorphological features of combined myxoid and round cell liposarcoma--a case report

Fine needle aspiration cytology plays an important role in the preoperative assessment of soft tissue neoplasms. In a 40-year-old man presenting with a large soft tissue mass in the posterior aspect of thigh a diagnosis of myxoid liposarcoma was suggested on FNAC. Scrape smears of the excised mass showed an additional finding of round cell component. Histopathology confirmed combined myxoid and round cell liposarcoma (grade 2), which behaves aggressively when compared to pure myxoid liposarcoma.     

Seasonal malaria transmission and variation of anopheline density in two distinct endemic areas in Brazilian Amazonia

Studies on seasonal anopheline fauna variation were performed in two distinct settlements in the State of Rond?nia, Brazil: one at the Madeira River banks (Portuchuelo) with stable native Amazonian population; the other at an inland lumber-extracting farm (Urupá) in dry land, in which adults are mostly migrants. During a 6-yr period (1994-2000), 8,638 adult anophelines were collected: 2,684 in Urupá and 5,954 in Portuchuelo. Anopheles darlingi represented >95% of total mosquitoes caught. Dissection of 4,424 A. darlingi females yielded a very low sporozoite infection index below 0.1%. Oocysts were found in both localities in approximately 0.1% of dissected mosquitoes. Determination of the hour biting rates disclosed seasonal variations in both localities. However, in Portuchuelo, mosquito density peaked at the acme of the rainy season, whereas at Urupá it peaked in the dry season. The increase in mosquito density and incidence of malaria cases were coincident. The high mosquito densities observed in the riverine settlement of Portochuelo sector B, which permits evaluation in > 10,000 mosquitoes' bites/person/year, could explain, in spite of the low mosquito's infection index, the previously described development of natural immunity in the local population that is not observed in the dry land agroindustrial settlement of Urupá.     

Testicular metastasis of primary cecal carcinoid tumor

Testicular carcinoids are rare and the majority are of primary testicular origin. Testicular carcinoids can also be secondary from extra-testicular primary tumors, but the incidence is even less common. The case described here is a patient who initially had an infiltrating cecal carcinoid with hepatic metastasis. Following surgery, he was managed with octreotide and had close monitoring of the levels of serum serotonin and its urinary metabolite. He experienced a fairly indolent clinical course and 5 years after excision of the primary cecal carcinoid, his hepatic lesion has virtually been unchanged. However, he developed a secondary testicular metastasis. He has otherwise remained well, without evidence of metastases elsewhere on imaging studies.     

Mice lacking the norepinephrine transporter are supersensitive to psychostimulants

The action of norepinephrine (NE) is terminated, in part, by its uptake into presynaptic noradrenergic neurons by the plasma-membrane NE transporter (NET), which is a target for antidepressants and psychostimulants. Disruption of the NET gene in mice prolonged the clearance of NE and elevated extracellular levels of this catecholamine. In a classical test for antidepressant drugs, the NET-deficient (NET-/-) animals behaved like antidepressant-treated wild-type mice. Mutants were hyper-responsive to locomotor stimulation by cocaine or amphetamine. These responses were accompanied by dopamine D2/D3 receptor supersensitivity. Thus altering NET expression significantly modulates midbrain dopaminergic function, an effect that may be an important component of the actions of antidepressants and psychostimulants.     

Use of 3D reconstruction to correct for patient motion in SPECT

Patient motion occurring during data acquisition in single photon emission computed tomography (SPET) can cause serious reconstruction artefacts. We have developed a new approach to correct for head motion in brain SPECT. Prior to motion, projections are assigned to conventional projections. When head motion occurs, it is measured by a motion monitoring system, and subsequent projection data are mapped to 'virtual' projections. The appropriate position of each virtual projection is determined by applying the converse of the patient's accumulated motion to the actual camera projection. Conventional and virtual projections, taken together, form a consistent set that can be reconstructed using a three-dimensional (3D) algorithm. The technique has been tested on a range of simulated rotational movements, both within and out of the transaxial plane. For all simulated movements, the motion corrected images exhibited better agreement with a motion free reconstruction than did the uncorrected images. This technique may help to overcome one of the major remaining limitations on image quality and quantitative accuracy in SPECT.     

Analysis of myocilin mutations in 1703 glaucoma patients from five different populations

A glaucoma locus, GLC1A, was identified previously on chromosome 1q. A gene within this locus (encoding the protein myocilin) subsequently was shown to harbor mutations in 2-4% of primary open angle glaucoma patients. A total of 1703 patients was screened from five different populations representing three racial groups. There were 1284 patients from primarily Caucasian populations in Iowa (727), Australia (390) and Canada (167). A group of 312 African American patients was from New York City and 107 Asian patients from Japan. Overall, 61 different myocilin sequence variations were identified. Of the 61 variations, 21 were judged to be probable disease-causing mutations. The number of probands found to harbor such mutations in each population was: Iowa 31/727 (4.3%), African Americans from New York City 8/312 (2.6%), Japan 3/107 (2.8%), Canada 5/167 (3.0%), Australia 11/390 (2.8%) and overall 58/1703 (3. 4%). Overall, 16 (76%) of 21 mutations were found in only one population. The most common mutation observed, Gln368Stop, was found in 27/1703 (1.6%) glaucoma probands and was found at least once in all groups except the Japanese. Studies of genetic markers flanking the myocilin gene suggest that most cases of the Gln368Stop mutations are descended from a common founder. Although the specific mutations found in each of the five populations were different, the overall frequency of myocilin mutations was similar ( approximately 2-4%) in all populations, suggesting that the increased rate of glaucoma in African Americans is not due to a higher prevalence of myocilin mutations.     

Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein and altitude

Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MS-alphaFP) testing is widely used to screen for fetal defects. MS-alphaFP concentrations are affected by a number of variables such as gestational age, maternal weight, number of fetuses, race, and insulin-dependent diabetes. Undefined geographic factors may also influence MS-alphaFP. We have examined the effect of altitude in a sample of 1063 MS-alphaFP results selected to span a range of altitudes. The study sample was subjected to linear regression with and without a term for altitude, and multiple-of-the-median (MoM) values were calculated before and after adjusting for altitude. The median MS-alphaFP was found to decrease an average of 1 ng/mL for every 1100 ft increase in altitude, a change approximately equivalent to that seen with an increase in maternal weight of 6 lb. Adjusting for altitude resulted in the reclassification of 36 of 1063 patient results (3.4%), although the clinical utility of this adjustment remains unexamined.