Exotic Becomes Erotic: Interpreting the Biological Correlates of Sexual Orientation

Although biological findings currently dominate the research literature on the determinants of sexual orientation, biological theorizing has not yet spelled out a developmental path by which any of the various biological correlates so far identified might lead to a particular sexual orientation. The Exotic-Becomes-Erotic (EBE) theory of sexual orientation (Bem, 1996) attempts to do just that, by suggesting how biological variables might interact with experiential and sociocultural factors to influence an individual's sexual orientation. Evidence for the theory is reviewed, and a path analysis of data from a large sample of twins is presented which yields preliminary support for the theory's claim that correlations between genetic variables and sexual orientation are mediated by childhood gender non-conformity.     

同种移植排斥反应中T细胞间接识别途径作用的研究

目的　CD+ 4T细胞通过间接识别途径识别MHC Ⅰ类移植抗原而活化已在离体实验中得到证实 ,但体内实验尚未见报道。方法　bml小鼠 (H 2Kbm1∶Kbm1,Db,Ⅰ Ab)的皮肤片分别移植到①B6小鼠 (H 2 b∶Kb,Db,Ⅰ Ab,n =8) ;②B6CD / 8小鼠 (H 2 b∶Kb,Db,Ⅰ Ab,CD / 8,n =8) ;③用抗CD4 抗体处理的B6CD / 8小鼠体上 (n =8)。观察移植皮肤的生长时间 ;用流式细胞仪 (FACScan)观察各组小鼠内T细胞亚群的变化。各组数据用分组或配对t检验进行数据统计。结果　尽管CD / 8小鼠体内未发现CD+ 8T细胞存在 ,但很快排斥了bm1皮肤移植片 (2 1 9d± 1 9d) ;而用抗CD4 抗体处理的B6CD / 8小鼠却长时间接受bm1皮肤移植片 (>47 5d± 3 8d) ;用流式细胞仪发现CD+ 4T细胞明显增殖活化并被抗CD4 抗体抑制。结论　CD+ 4T细胞通过间接识别途径活化并导致同种相异MHC Ⅰ类移植物的排斥。     

Causal analysis of academic performance

Maximum likelihood methods are presented to test for the relations between causes and effects in linear path diagrams, without assuming that estimates of causes are free of error. Causal analysis is illustrated by published data of the Equal Educational Opportunity Survey, which show that American schools do not significantly modify socioeconomic differences in academic performance and that little of the observed racial difference in academic performance is causal. For two races differing by 15 IQ points, the differential if social class were randomized would be only about 3 points. The principle is stressed that a racial effect in a causal system may be environmental and that its etiology can be studied only by analysis of family resemblance in hybrid populations.PGL Paper No. 155. This work was supported by Grants GM 17173, 1-K3-GM-31, 732, GM HD16697, and HD06003 from the National Institutes of Health.     

Contact dermatitis in Nigeria

Nickel is the most important sensitizer in Lagos, with an incidence of 12.3% of 453 patients tested. There was no sex difference, as the wearing of necklaces and bracelets was equally fashionable among both sexes. Housewife eczema is not common, probably because of hardening. Dermatitis from additives in the processing of leather and rubber footwear was the next most common. Chromate sensitivity comes usually from leather or cement. Cultural and climatic factors are mainly responsible for differences in the incidence of contact dermatitis found in Lagos from other countries.     

Hippocampal contributions to neurocognitive mapping in humans: a new model

The ability of an organism to develop, maintain, and act upon an abstracted internal representation of spatially extensive environments can provide an increased chance in ensuring that organism's survival. Here, we propose a neurocognitive model of spatial representation describing how several different processes interact and segregate the differing types of information used to produce a unified cognitive map. This model proposes that view-based egocentric and vestibulomotor translational information are functionally and anatomically separate, and that these parallel systems result in independent, but interacting, models within a neurocognitive map of space. In this context, we selectively review relevant portions of the large literature, addressing the establishment and operation of such spatial constructs in humans and the brain systems that underpin them, with particular reference to the hippocampal formation (HF). We present a reinterpretation of the types of knowledge used in the formation of this spatial construct, the processes that act upon this information, the nature of the final spatial representation, and describe how these universal concepts relate to the proposed model of spatial processing. The relevant experimental paradigms used to examine the neural basis of spatial representation and the main findings from previous research are also briefly presented. Finally, we detail a series of testable theoretical, behavioral, and anatomical predictions made by the model.     

Early eyelid opening enhances spontaneous alternation and accelerates the development of perforant path synaptic strength in the hippocampus of juvenile rats

Development of the hippocampus is not entirely preprogrammed; its structure and function are sensitive to postnatal experience. For instance, neonatal handling/exposure to novelty and peripubertal environmental enrichment enhance hippocampal function and related memory abilities. However, these complex environmental manipulations make it difficult to deduce the primary stimuli that drive more rapid hippocampal maturation, and few experiments have studied the neural mechanisms that support the behavioral modifications. To address these issues, I performed early eyelid opening in rat pups and examined developmental alterations in exploration of a Y-maze and in synaptic transmission measured in hippocampal slices. Early eyelid opening accelerated development of spontaneous alternation. Additionally, early eyelid opening promoted more rapid remodeling of afferent input to the dentate gyrus and area CA1 as well as earlier maturation of perforant path synaptic physiology. These findings implicate visual input as an extrinsic factor that drives hippocampal development and the emergence of hippocampal-dependent behavior.     

Encoding versus retrieval of spatial memory: double dissociation between the dentate gyrus and the perforant path inputs into CA3 in the dorsal hippocampus

The hippocampus is an essential neural structure for spatial memory. Computational models suggest that the CA3 subregion of the hippocampus plays an essential role in encoding and retrieval of spatial memory. The perforant path (PPCA3) and dentate gyrus (DG)-mediated mossy fibers (MFs) compose major afferent inputs into CA3. A possible functional dissociation between these afferent inputs was attempted using a simple navigation test (i.e., the modified Hebb-Williams maze). Behavioral testing was combined with electrolytic lesions of PPCA3 or neurotoxic lesions of the DG, to eliminate each afferent input into CA3. Lesions in either afferent input into CA3 affected learning of an effective navigational path on the maze. The contributions of the two CA3 afferent inputs, however, were different regarding encoding and retrieval of memory measured based on indices operationally defined for the behavioral paradigm (i.e., encoding, the number of errors reduced within a day; retrieval, the number of errors reduced between days). The DG-lesioned animals exhibited deficits regarding the encoding index, but not the retrieval index, whereas the PPCA3-lesioned rats displayed deficits regarding the retrieval index, but not the encoding index. The results suggest that the two major afferent inputs of CA3 may contribute differentially to encoding and retrieval of spatial memory.     

中医发展路径思考

中医发展已出现空前良好的机遇,但中医现状并不乐观。中医发展路径应该立足于中医理念的基础上,保持中医的思维方式,积极主动地利用好现代科学技术,让现代科学技术为我所用,助我所长、补我所短,使中医保持自身特色、充分发挥自身优势,进而得到发展、拓新。作者认为：中医临床工作者在检查搜集各种病情资料和实施治疗、评定疗效、判断预后的环节上,可以利用好现有的科学技术手段,但在分析疾病和立法选药的环节上还难以利用现有的科学技术手段,因为中医“辨证审机定治”的思维方式还不具备现代科学要求的统一尺度和统一标准,这还有待于我们依据中医的思维模式,拓展思路,创新相应的科学技术,阐发中医理论的本质,促进中医发展。     

A comparison of two models of health-promoting lifestyle in rural elderly Taiwanese women

The purposes of this study were to: (1) examine the relations among age, marital status, social class, perceived health, self-care agency, health-promoting lifestyle, and well-being in two groups of rural elderly Taiwanese women and (2) validate and compare two models using the two age groups of rural elderly Taiwanese women. Based on the conceptualizations of the major study variables in Orem's self-care model (1995), Pender's health promotion model (1987), and other scholars' ideas (Hartweg, 1990; Simmons, 1990), a theoretical model of health-promoting lifestyle was proposed for this study. A survey-interview method was used for data collection. Two groups of elderly women were recruited for data analysis: 168 in the younger group and 116 in the older group. The mean age was 64.66 in the younger group and 75.59 in the older group. Two models of health-promoting lifestyle were tested with a path analysis, using the Linear Structural Relations 8 (LISREL 8) program. The resultant models yielded chi2 of 13.69 with 9 degrees of freedom (p = 0.13) in the younger group and chi2 of 15.76 with 10 degrees of freedom (p = 0.11) in the older group. Other fit indices also indicate the two models fit the data well. Community nurses can assess, identify, and use effective interventions for rural elderly women on a basis of the resulting models.     

The relationship of lifestyle factors, personal character, and mental health status of employees of a major Japanese electrical manufacturer

Summary  To examine the relationship lifestyle factors, personal character, mental health status, and job strain a self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted among employees of a leading electrical manufacturing company in Japan. A total of 2,327 workers (Male=1,668, Female=659) responded to the survey. We analyzed the relationships of health practices based on such factors as: Free child (FC) from the Egogram, the Working-life satisfaction, and the General Health Questionnaire-28 through Path-analysis techniques. The following results were obtained: The mental health status was significantly affected by such factors as health practices, Working-life satisfaction, personal character (FC), life satisfaction, and age. Health practices and personal character (FC) showed a direct relationship to the mental health status and an indirect relationship to the Working-life satisfaction and life satisfaction. The variances accounting for mental health status were 41.8% in male workers and 43.8% in female workers. Path-analysis data suggested that mental health status was affected about 40% by lifestyle, personal character, Working-life satisfaction, and life satisfaction. It was suggested that there might be important factors affecting mental health status but which are unknown to us by as much as 60% in the present day. These findings suggested the necessity of further investigation of the relationship among lifestyle factors, mental health status, and job strain among employees of a reputable company in the present day.