Changes in bone markers in children with asthma during inhaled budesonide and nedocromil treatments

We evaluated serum and urinary markers of bone turnover in 14 children with asthma during inhaled budesonide and nedocromil treatments. Both the markers of formation (serum carboxy- and amino-terminal propeptides of type I procollagen and serum osteocalcin) and the markers of degradation (serum carboxy-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen and urinary pyridinium cross-links) decreased (p < 0.05) during budesonide treatment for 6 months. During inhaled nedocromil treatment (for the following 6 months), the markers returned to the normal levels. These transient decreases in the markers of both formation and degradation of bone suggest that inhaled budesonide may slightly decrease the bone turnover rate. However, normal "coupling" between formation and degradation seemed to operate, e.g. a change in one resulted in a corresponding change in the other, so that net bone loss did not necessarily occur.     

The cleavage of pro-urokinase type plasminogen activator by stromelysin-1

Membrane binding of urokinase type plasminogen activator (u-PA) is thought to play a pivotal role in connective tissue remodeling and invasive processes. We compare the ability of different matrix-metalloproteinases involved in connective tissue turnover to cleave pro-urokinase type plasminogen activator between the catalytic domain and the receptor binding part to investigate a potential role for matrix-metalloproteinases in the regulation of membrane-associated proteolytic activity. We employed several forms of human stromelysin-1 (full length, C-truncated, and recombinant catalytic domain), rabbit C-truncated stromelysin-1, the human gelatinases A and B and the human catalytic domain of neutrophil collagenase. The gelatinases and the collagenase did not separate the receptor binding domain of pro-urokinase type plasminogen activator from the catalytic domain, whereas all stromelysin-1 forms cleaved the glutamic acid 143-leucine 144 bond of pro-urokinase type plasminogen activator. This reaction could be inhibited by specific inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases and was not affected by inhibitors of serine proteinases. The M(r) 31000 cleavage product with leucine 144 as N-terminus displayed no proteolytic activity towards the pro-urokinase type plasminogen activator substrate pyroGlu-Gly-Arg-pNA-HCI (S2444), but it could be activated by an additional treatment with plasmin. Comparison between full length stromelysin-1 and its C-truncated forms, showed that both exhibited the same cleavage properties towards pro-urokinase type plasminogen activator. Thus, the cleavage of pro-urokinase type plasminogen activator by stromelysin-1 is not influenced by the presence or absence of the C-terminal domain. The recombinant catalytic domain of MMP-3 generated pro-urokinase type plasminogen activator, whereas incubation of pro-urokinase type plasminogen activator with the native forms of human or rabbit stromelysin-1 led to a moderate activation of pro-uPA due to an additional cleavage that is catalyzed by a serine proteinase.     

Psychology of employee lateness, absence, and turnover: A methodological critique and an empirical study.

Data on organizational commitment, job satisfaction, lateness behavior, unauthorized absence behavior, voluntary employee turnover, and biographical and situational information were obtained for 406 employees of an engineering plant in England. Results suggest the need for examination of the impact of behavior on affect. It is concluded that the generalized notion of "withdrawal" is misleading and that a redirection of research in this area both through methodological improvements and theoretical innovation is needed. (57 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Turnover Intentions and Voluntary Turnover: The Moderating Roles of Self-Monitoring, Locus of Control, Proactive Personality, and Risk Aversion.

This article explores moderators of the relationship between turnover intentions and turnover behavior to better explain why some employees translate intentions into behavior and other employees do not. Individual differences in self-monitoring, locus of control, proactive personality, and risk aversion were examined. Results indicate that self-monitoring and risk aversion moderate the intentions-turnover link. Specifically, the relationship between turnover intentions and turnover is stronger for low self-monitors and those lower in risk aversion. Locus of control moderated the relationship in 1 of 2 samples such that the relationship was stronger for those with an internal locus of control. Proactive personality, however, did not directly moderate the relationship between intentions and turnover behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal study of the moderating role of extraversion: Leader-member exchange, performance, and turnover during new executive development.

Identifying factors that help or hinder new executives in "getting up to speed" quickly and remaining with an organization is vital to maximizing the effectiveness of executive development. The current study extends past research by examining extraversion as a moderator of relationships between leader-member exchange (LMX) and performance, turnover intentions, and actual turnover for an executive sample. The sample consisted of 116 new executives who were surveyed prior to starting their employment and at 3 months postentry. A total of 67 senior executives rated these new executives in terms of overall performance at 6 months postentry. Turnover data were gathered from company records 3 1/2 years later. Hierarchical regression results showed that LMX was not related to performance or turnover intentions for those high in extraversion; but for individuals low in extraversion, there was a relation between LMX, performance, and turnover intentions. Furthermore, survival analyses showed that LMX was only related to turnover-hazard rate for individuals low in extraversion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of impression management and self-deception on the predictive validity of personality constructs.

This study tests whether 2 types of response distortion (self-deception and impression management) affect the predictive validity of 2 of the "Big 5" personality dimensions, conscientiousness and emotional stability, in 2 applicant samples of long-haul semitruck drivers (n?=?147 and n?=?139). As hypothesized, conscientiousness (p?=?–.26 and –.26) and emotional stability (p?=?–.23 and –.21 ) were valid predictors of voluntary turnover in the 2 samples. Also as hypothesized, conscientiousness was a valid predictor of supervisory ratings of performance (p?=?.41 and .39 ) in the 2 samples. Although not hypothesized, emotional stability was also significantly related to supervisor ratings of performance (p?=?.23 and .27). Results from structural equations modeling indicated that applicants did distort their scores on both personality dimensions and the distortion occurred both through self-deception and impression management; however, neither type of distortion attenuated the predictive validities of either personality construct. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Monitoring of bone turnover biological, preanalytical and technical criteria in the assessment of biochemical markers

A review is given summarizing the present knowledge of bone turnover markers with special emphasis on biological, preanalytical and technical criteria in the proper judgement of efficacy and limitations of the methods employed. The marker substances may be either measures of bone formation or bone resorption. Markers of bone formation are bone alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin and the carboxyl-terminal propeptide of procollagen type I. Bone alkaline phosphatase has proved to be superior to total alkaline phosphatase activity with respect to diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. Immunochemical techniques for measuring bone alkaline phosphatase show a cross-reactivity of 14-20% with liver alkaline phosphatase. However, this does not compromise the clinical usefulness of these assays except for patients with severe liver diseases. Osteocalcin is strictly bone-specific but shows numerous disadvantages with respect to apparent instability and discordant results as obtained by different methods; however, in certain diagnostic situations (corticosteroid-induced osteopenia, absence of destroyed bone architecture) osteocalcin may serve as a sensitive bone turnover marker. The carboxyl-terminal propeptide of procollagen type I generally shows low discriminating power in the diagnosis of bone diseases. The urinary excretion of pyridinium "cross-links' has been carefully evaluated so far with respect to analytical performance and clinical usefulness. This marker may be a substitute for 4-hydroxyproline measurements as the method of choice for assessment of bone resorption. There are other degradation products from the telopeptide regions of bone-derived collagen type I which are excreted into the urine (N-telopeptides, CrossLapsTM); these analytes are promising tools in the assessment of bone resorption but require further evaluation, in particular with respect to their extraskeletal clearance and putative origin outside bone. Moreover, their clinical usefulness may vary depending on the patient group examined. In contrast, the serum concentration of the cross-linked telopeptide region of collagen type I seems to lack both diagnostic specificity and sensitivity in the majority of patient groups. Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (as determined by the presently available methods) cannot be recommended as a routine tool for assessment of bone resorption.     

Differential changes in noradrenaline turnover in specific regions of rat brain produced by controllable and uncontrollable shocks.

Three studies investigated the effects of the ability to avoid or escape shock (controllability) and the lack of ability to do so (uncontrollability) on noradrenergic neurons in various brain regions of 104 male Wistar rats. Brain levels of noradrenaline (NA) and its major metabolite, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol sulfate (MHPG-SO?), were measured fluorometrically. Results indicate that after 3 or 6 hrs in a free operant avoidance-escape stress procedure, the experimental Ss able to avoid or escape shock showed greater increases in NA turnover (lower NA levels and higher MHPG-SO? levels) in the hypothalamus, amygdala, and thalamus than the yoked Ss unable to control the same shock. After 21 hrs of stress, yoked Ss exhibited a more marked enhancement of NA turnover in these brain regions than did experimental Ss. Once shock-controlling responses had been acquired and well established by experimental Ss, the responses of NA neurons in these Ss did not differ markedly from those in the nonshocked controls. Yoked Ss given the same repetitive sessions of uncontrollable shock displayed sustained increases in NA turnover preferentially in the hypothalamus and amygdala, compared with the experimental Ss. Results suggest that NA release in specific brain regions in the experimental "coping" rats is increased before the rats have learned the effective coping response. However, once a coping response is firmly established, NA release is reduced. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social connectedness and mothering: Effects of maternal employment and maternal absence.

We conducted two separate studies to test N. Chodorow's (1978) theory concerning the relationship between mothering and social connectedness, that is, a sense of self in relation to others. In two correlational studies, we examined the effects of maternal employment and maternal absence (because of death or divorce) on young adults' social connectedness, as measured by the Interpersonal Orientation (IO) Scale (W. C. Swap and J. Z. Rubin; see record 1983-22471-001). Although differences in maternal employment were not related to IO, maternal absence was related to IO. Daughters whose mothers had been absent since the daughters' early childhood rated themselves lowest on IO; this was especially true of daughters who did not report having a mother substitute. This finding provides support for Chodorow's theory because it documents a predicted sex difference, a predicted effect of "mothering" versus "fathering," and a predicted difference between early (i.e., preoedipal) and later absence. Future empirical work on moderators of child-rearing experience is warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing patients'' priorities and perceptions of the quality of health care: the development of the QUOTE-Rheumatic-Patients instrument

BACKGROUND: Stress can exacerbate a number of psychiatric disorders, many of which are associated with prefrontal cortical (PFC) cognitive deficits. Biochemical studies demonstrate that mild stress preferentially increases dopamine turnover in the PFC. Our study examined the effects of acute, mild stress exposure on higher cognitive function in monkeys and the role of dopaminergic mechanisms in the stress response. METHODS: The effects of loud (105-dB) noise stress were examined on a spatial working memory task (delayed response) dependent on the PFC, and on a reference memory task with similar motor and motivational demands (visual pattern discrimination) dependent on the inferior temporal cortex. The role of dopamine mechanisms was tested by challenging the stress response with agents that decrease dopamine receptor stimulation. RESULTS: Exposure to noise stress significantly impaired delayed-response performance. Stress did not impair performance on "0-second" delay control trials and did not alter visual pattern discrimination performance, which is consistent with impaired PFC cognitive function rather than nonspecific changes in performance. Stress-induced deficits in delayed-response performance were ameliorated by pretreatment with drugs that block dopamine receptors (haloperidol, SCH 23390) or reduce stress-induced PFC dopamine turnover in rodents (clonidine, naloxone hydrochloride). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that stress impairs PFC cognitive function through a hyperdopaminergic mechanism. Stress may take the PFC "off-line" to allow more habitual responses mediated by posterior cortical and subcortical structures to regulate behavior. This mechanism may have survival value, but may often be maladaptive in human society, contributing to the vulnerability of the PFC in many neuropsychiatric disorders.     

Predicting sales turnover from pay satisfaction and expectation.

Examined the effects of pay satisfaction (PS) and pay expectation (PE), the perceived probability of receiving more satisfying pay in another job, on withdrawal cognition (WC) and turnover. Questionnaires completed by 89 sales representatives measured affective and cognitive variables related to turnover decisions. PS and PE were correlated with WC, but PE did not contribute explanatory variance after PS. PS did, however, explain variance in WC beyond that explained by age or tenure, general (nonpay) satisfaction, amount of pay received, and PE. Only WC and PS were significantly correlated with actual turnover. After WC, no other variable explained additional turnover variance. There was no evidence of an interaction effect of PS and PE on WC or turnover. Results suggest that effects of pay on turnover are mediated primarily by PS and intentions to quit. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A meta-analytical structural equations analysis of a model of employee turnover.

Combined meta-analysis with structural equations modeling (SEM) to validate the W. H. Mobley et al (1978) turnover theory as well as alternative structural networks proposed by A. Dalessio et al (1986), P. W. Hom et al (1984), and B. D. Bannister and R. W. Griffeth (1986). The authors aggregated correlations from 17 studies (N?=?5,013 employees), correcting for unreliability and sampling error. Then they used SEM to assess the models, comparing their relative fits to data. SEM analyses corroborated the Mobley et al model better than did past research, but these analyses also showed that the Dalessio et al and the Hom et al theories explained sample data more plausibly. Additional SEM tests found that turnover base rates, time lags between turnover and model assessments, unemployment rates, and occupational differences moderated the models' pathways. The present findings suggest various implications for these theories and for turnover research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toe transplantation in congenital malformations of the hand

Toe transfer is a well established procedure for thumb and finger reconstruction after mutilation. The indications in congenital malformations are a mater of controversy. Out of a personal series of 209 patients, 42 were children presenting a congenital malformation. Thirty six, with 46 transfers were available for review. There is only one failure at the beginning of our experience. The main indication was absence of pinch either due to absence of thumb (like in congenital band syndrome or some extreme cases of ulnar club hand or cleft hand) or absence of long finger (like in symbrachydactyly monodactylous type) or lack of both thumb and finger (like in peromelic type of symbrachydactyly). In this last type, we have been disappointed by the functional result of the distal implantation of two second toes taken from both feet; we have proposed a "stub" operation consisting in a second toe transfer on the anterior aspect of the radial epiphysis to take advantage of the mobility of the wrist and the availability of plenty tendon transfer (in this proximal situation). When planing to "built" an absent pincer, an early age is mandatory for operation (mean 12 months), to ensure a good cortical integration. A less frequent indication is a partial toe transfer with a vascularized epiphysis to provide growth and mobility in some cases of thumb hypoplasia (like in symbrachydactyly or Blauth and Manske type III b). Results are difficult to assess due to the early operation but if the mobility has been disappointing (mean 32 degrees), sensibility (mean 2PD 5 mm) and growth were excellent.     

Effects of "voice" and peer opinions on responses to inequity.

Examined the effects of "voice" (participating in allocation decision making by expressing one's own opinion about the preferred allocation) on responses to an inequitable allocation. In addition to Ss' (82 female undergraduates) presence or absence of voice, Exp I manipulated (a) whether the allocation made by a "decision maker" (a confederate) was or was not made biased (due to self-interest) and (b) whether the S did or did not learn that a "co-worker" believed the allocation to be inequitable. Exp II, with 61 female high school students, manipulated presence/absence of voice and involved only a self-interested decision maker. In both experiments, the impact of voice was mediated by knowledge about the co-worker's opinion. When Ss had no knowledge about the co-worker's opinion (Exp I) or knew that the co-workers's opinion coincided with the decision maker's allocation (Exp II), there was evidence for a "fair process effect": Voice Ss expressed greater satisfaction than those with no voice. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family characteristics and elementary school achievement in an urban ghetto.

Investigated the relationships of sex, father absence, family size, and birth order to factor scores representing "general academic achievement" in a sample of 149 urban black ghetto 5th graders. Significant main effects were found for sex (with girls showing higher achievement levels than boys) and family size (with the highest achievement in small families). A significant Birth Order * Family Size interaction was found: Firstborn Ss did best in small families, lastborn Ss did best in intermediate (4-5 children) families, and there was no birth order differentiation in large families. No significant effect on achievement was found for father absence. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ligand-like effects induced by anti-c-erbB-2 antibodies do not correlate with and are not required for growth inhibition of human carcinoma cells

The c-erbB-2 gene encodes a M(r) 185,000 tyrosine kinase receptor (p185) with extensive homology to the epidermal growth factor receptor. We have conducted mechanistic studies with several anti-p185 monoclonal antibodies (TAb 250, -255, -257, -260, and -263) directed against the extracellular domain of p185 utilizing the SKBR-3, BT-474, and SKOV-3 cancer cell lines. Several of these antibodies exhibited ligand-mimicking properties: they induced tyrosine phosphorylation of p185; increased the catalytic activity of the receptor substrate phospholipase C-gamma 1; exhibited time- and pH-dependent internalization; induced receptor down-regulation; and increased the turnover of the p185 protein delta 3-fold. However, there was not a universal correlation between the antibody-mediated ligand-like effects and growth inhibition. TAb 250 inhibited BT-474 cells but did not alter p185 phosphotyrosine content or increase receptor turnover in these cells. TAb 260 increased p185 protein turnover but did not affect proliferation of the SKOV-3 cell line. Furthermore, blockade of TAb 250-induced receptor phosphorylation with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor tyrphostin 50864-2 did not abrogate TAb 250-mediated growth inhibition of SKBR-3 cells. These data suggest that ligand-like effects mediated by p185 antibodies are not critical for the growth inhibition of c-erbB-2-overexpressing carcinoma cells.     

Synovial sarcoma of the pericardium

Differences between the type B neurotoxin gene sequence of Clostridium botulinum type A(B) and Cl. botulinum type B, including a six nucleotide deletion, were recently proposed as a cause of the lack of expression of this gene in the type A toxigenic strains. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on two sets of primers was designed to investigate the absence of the 6-nucleotide sequence in the apparently unexpressed type B toxin gene of 42 strains of Cl. botulinum type A(B). Thirty-five strains were shown to exhibit a deletion in their type B toxin gene; two strains did not have the deletion and actually produced small amounts of type B toxin when tested by the mouse bioassay. This two-step PCR might be useful for the rapid determination of the presence of the six nucleotide deletion and consequently, whether the type B toxin is likely to be produced.     

Retardation of extinction of an escape response by prolonged, intense goal box shock.

Studied the effects of intense, response-contingent goal box shock on the extinction of a runway-escape response in 40 male albino rats by means of a 2?×?2 factorial design in which presence vs absence of goal box shock during escape training was crossed with the same factor during extinction. Of the 2 groups trained with shock in the goal box, the 1 shocked there during extinction exhibited dramatically enhanced resistance to extinction. The group not punished there extinguished more rapidly than any of the other 4 groups. The remaining 2 groups responded at levels between these 2 groups but did not differ from each other. Results are discussed in terms of various learning-theory mechanisms, such as conditioned fear and stimulus generalization, and with emphasis on similarities between the procedures of the present study and those extant "alley-shock" and "goal-shock" self-punitive designs. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visualization of a slow, ATP-induced structural transition in the bacterial molecular chaperone DnaK

Recent reports have shown that the binding of ATP to a 70-kDa molecular chaperone induces a rapid global conformational transition from a "high affinity" state to a "low affinity" state, where these states are defined by tight and weak binding to (poly)peptides, respectively. To complete the activity cycle, a chaperone molecule must ultimately return to the high affinity state. In this report, this return to the high affinity state was studied using a chemical cross-linking assay in conjunction with SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The basis for this assay is that in the absence of nucleotide or in the presence of ADP, conditions that stabilize the high affinity state, cross-linking of the Escherichia coli molecular chaperone DnaK yielded two monomeric forms, with apparent molecular masses of 70 kDa (77%) and 90 kDa (23%), whereas cross-linking yielded only the 70-kDa monomeric form in the presence of ATP. This ATP-dependent difference in cross-linking was used to follow the kinetics of the low affinity to high affinity transition under single turnover conditions. The rate of this transition (kobs = 3.4 (+/-0.6) x 10(-4) s-1 at 25 degrees C) is almost identical to the reported rate of ATP hydrolysis (khy = 2.7 (+/-0.7) x 10(-4) s-1 at 22 degrees C). These results are consistent with a two-step sequential reaction where rate-limiting ATP hydrolysis precedes the conformational change. Models for the formation of two cross-linked DnaK monomers in the absence of ATP are discussed.