Citation for the 1998 Gerald D. Aurbach Lecture Award of the Endocrine Society to Dr. JoAnne S. Richards

Rectal stenosis following low anterior resection is common. Several methods of treatment have been described. We introduce a simple method for the treatment of anastomotic stenosis using a conventional proctoscope and an electric knife with a Foley catheter as an anvil. Under direct vision, this technique can afford accurate and safe incision of stenosis.     

Status quo in "anesthesiology"? American Society of Anesthesiologists 1997 annual meeting--San Diego, October 18-22, 1997]

Percentage and types of morphological abnormalities found in canine spermatozoa were evaluated by three investigators using three stains (Giemsa-Wright stain [Diff-Quik], eosin Y/nigrosin [Hancock], and eosin B/nigrosin [Society for Theriogenology morphology stain] with conventional light microscopy, compared to phase contrast microscopy on unstained samples. The percentage of spermatozoa with abnormal heads, midpieces, and tails varied by technique and by investigator. Average percentages of morphologically normal spermatozoa were significantly higher in samples stained with Diff-Quik and samples examined by phase contrast microscopy than in samples stained with Hancock or Society for Theriogenology morphology stains. No effect of investigator on the percentage of morphologically normal spermatozoa was assessed. Results suggest that staining or preparation technique may alter the morphology of canine spermatozoa artifactually.     

Women and menopause: beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. The North American Menopause Society 1997 Menopause Survey

It has been demonstrated that exposure to mercury or cadmium compounds causes alterations in the glutathione system in a model glial cell line, C6. Here we report that two organic tin compounds, triethyltin (TET) and trimethyltin (TMT), are also toxic to these cells with EC50 values for cell death of c. 0.02 microM and 0.8 microM respectively. Exposure for 24 h to either of these compounds at sub-toxic concentrations caused increases in the amount of reduced glutathione (GSH) per cell. Increases in glutathione-S-transferase enzyme activity were also demonstrated after TET or TMT exposure. This suggests that glutathione increases occur in glial cells after toxic insults below that required to cause cell death, possibly acting as a protective mechanism. To test whether GSH plays a role in organotin-induced cell death we manipulated GSH in the culture media or via intracellular GSH and looked at the effects on sensitivity to TET or TMT toxicity. Adding GSH to the culture media did not protect the cells. Depletion of intracellular GSH with buthionine-[S,R] sulphoximine did not alter cytotoxicity of TET or TMT. However, pre-treatment with (-)-2-oxo-4-thiazolidine carboxylic acid (OTC), which increases intracellular GSH levels, protected the cells against both compounds. The EC50 for TMT was increased from 0.77 to 1.8 microM, a 2.3-fold shift, whereas the EC50 for TET was increased > 20-fold, from 0.022 to 0.47 microM. One interpretation of these results is that GSH protects cells against the toxicity of organic tin compounds without reacting directly with them to any significant extent. Under conditions where GSH is depleted, additional protective mechanisms may be active.     

Standards for diagnosis and management of invasive breast carcinoma. American College of Radiology. American College of Surgeons. College of American Pathologists. Society of Surgical Oncology

Because knowledge has advanced in several fields related to the treatment of early breast cancer, revising the landmark 1992 standards for breast-conservation treatment by these four organizations is appropriate. The current report reviews and summarizes the literature and describes the selection and evaluation of patients, the technical aspects of surgical treatment and irradiation, follow-up care, and areas for further research.     

Phantom limbs, the self and the brain (the D. O. Hebb Memorial Lecture).

An examination of phantom limb phenomena has led to 4 conclusions: The experience of a phantom limb has the quality of reality because it is produced by the same brain processes that underlie the experience of the body when it is intact; neural networks in the brain generate all the qualities of experience that are felt to originate in the body; the experience of the body has a unitary, integrated quality that includes the quality of the "self"; and the neural network that underlies the experience of the body-self is genetically determined but can be modified by sensory experience. A theory is developed to explain these conclusions. It is proposed that we are born with a widespread neural network (the "neuromatrix") for the body-self, which is subsequently modified by experience. The neuromatrix imparts a pattern on all inputs from the body, so that experiences of one's own body have a quality of self and are imbued with affective tone and cognitive meaning. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Elementary particles for models of drug dependence 10th Okey Memorial Lecture presented at the Institute of Psychiatry, London on 19th March 1997

Plasmodium falciparum secretes several proteins that cause changes in the erythrocyte membrane enabling it to survive within red blood cells. Little is known of the mechanisms involved in the secretion and targeting of parasite polypeptides to the various cell compartments. The P. falciparum gene homologous to the mammalian Sec61alpha, gene, which encodes a component of the translocation pore in the endoplasmic reticulum of eukaryotic cells, was characterised to investigate the translocation process in the parasite. PfSec61 is present as a unique copy in the parasite genome and was mapped to chromosome 13. It encodes a 40 kDa polypeptide, as shown by immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation of [35S]methionine metabolically-labelled parasite extracts. The deduced amino acid sequence of PfSec61 is 87% similar to the mammalian polypeptide, and the two proteins give similar hydropathy plots. These results strongly suggest that PfSec61 has the same topological orientation and functional role as Sec61alpha. Anti-PfSec61 antibodies were used to investigate the cellular location and kinetics of expression of the polypeptide in the parasite. Immunofluorescence confocal microscopy showed that PfSec61 was located in the parasite cytoplasm, close to the nucleus, in a position consistent with its being in the endoplasmic reticulum.     

The 1998 Donald E. Cummings Memorial Award Lecture. The industrial hygiene paradox, dilemmas, and a vision for the future

How do we move from diatribe to dialogue? Since the Donald E. Cummings Award was first established in 1943, the profession of industrial hygiene has seen many changes. The traditional hazards Alice Hamilton addressed in her 1948 Cummings lecture have been controlled. However, the advent of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has changed the approach of many of today's industrial hygienists from "best professional practices" to regulatory compliance or OSHA industrial hygiene. Further, the dialogue that has existed between academia, business, government, and labor that allows industrial hygienists to identify and resolve health hazards is now threatened by lawsuits and lobbyists. Industrial hygienists have a professional responsibility to workers, employers, clients, and the public. Our vision for the future must refocus on this responsibility as we once again embrace dialogue instead of diatribe. This lecture was presented at the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition in Atlanta, Ga., on May 13, 1998.     

The Carhart Memorial Lecture, American Auditory Society, Salt Lake City, Utah 1996. Phoneme and word recognition for words in isolation and in sentences

The clinical, features, serial electrocardiograms, and autopsy findings of a patient with symptomatic complete AV block, who had received mediastinal radiation therapy 8 1/2 years previously, are presented. The cardiac histopathology disclosed immense fibrosis of the conduction system and of the atria and ventricles. The enormous amount of fibrosis was similar in location and intensity to that observed in our previously reported patient (Cohen et al., Arch Intern Med 1981; 141:676-679) who had undergone mediastinal radiation. We conclude that the severe fibrosis was primarily due to radiation, rather than secondary to atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, which also has been described as a consequence of mediastinal radiotherapy. This patient's serial electrocardiograms disclosed evidence of complete block both in the AV nodal area and infra His system, which correlated well with the histopathology. The characteristic clinical features of patients with symptomatic complete AV block post mediastinal radiation therapy are presented, along with a review of the world literature.     

Report on the 74th Congress of the Society of Bavarian Surgeons e. V. 24-26 July 1997 in Landshut]

Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) are the most abundant immune cells in inflammatory gingival sites of patients with early onset periodontitis, localized juvenile periodontitis, and rapidly progressive periodontitis (RPP). In the latter, the large number of PMN in connective tissue may explain the marked gingival destruction. Because interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a potent PMN chemoattractant, we evaluated circulating levels and gingival mRNA expression of IL-8. We found high IL-8 plasma levels as well as strong IL-8 mRNA expression in both epithelial and connective gingival cells from patients with RPP. Moreover, the gingival PMN themselves contained IL-8 mRNA, suggesting an autoamplification of PMN recruitment and activation in the gingiva. We also measured the expression of adhesion molecules at the PMN surface as well as the oxidative burst in whole blood from 14 patients with RPP, using flow cytometry to avoid irrelevant stimulations and to analyze single cells. In RPP patients, resting PMN showed reduced L-selectin, Lewis x, and sialyl Lewis x antigen expression as well as increased H2O2 production. These modifications of PMN adhesion molecule expression, together with their increased basal oxidative burst and excessive IL-8 production, may contribute to the noxious inflammatory reaction, which may in turn be autopotentiated by PMN production of IL-8. In addition, PMN showed a lack of increased response (H2O2 production) to formyl peptides after ex vivo priming with IL-8, possibly owing to IL-8 desensitization that may be involved in the increased susceptibility of RPP patients to infection. After appropriate treatment of RPP, the reduction in inflammation was associated with a return to control levels of both plasma IL-8 and PMN functions, suggesting that these features are linked.     

The 1997 Schering Lecture. Quality of life in oncology: nurses' perceptions, values and behaviours

Quality of life is an important dimension of cancer care. Yet, within our current environment of fiscal restraint, restructuring and cancer care system reform, pressures exist which may make it difficult to provide care which attends to issues of quality of life. Oncology nurses are key providers of cancer care and their perspectives on quality of life for cancer patients are very important. In addition, much of the satisfaction oncology nurses experience in their practice emerges from matters related to attending to quality of life issues. Are oncology nurses currently able to incorporate quality of life issues into their daily care of patients? How are they doing so? The purpose of this qualitative study is to identify major themes and dimensions of nurses' perceptions and values related to quality of life and create a profile of the oncology nurse's role in integrating quality of life in nursing practice. A total of 25 oncology nurses in regional cancer centres across Ontario were interviewed. Each semistructured interview was taperecorded and transcribed. Analysis was completed to identify the major themes and dimensions. This presentation will report the findings from the study and will focus on understanding the existing values oncology nurses hold surrounding quality of life, how quality of life is conceptualized, and the patterns of practice and decision-making regarding quality of life.     

The foundation and future of the Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts.

Aesthetics was a focal topic when psychology was first established as a science. Thus, virtually all of the early presidents of the American Psychological Association (APA) dealt with it to some degree. Unfortunately, conflicts between experimental and clinical psychologists began only a few years after APA was founded in 1892. These conflicts led to the establishment of the divisional structure of APA in 1945, when Division 10 (then called Esthetics) was created. The history of the division is described. Since 1999, the division has changed in several ways. These changes and the reasons for them are described in some detail. The division newsletter was upgraded to a bulletin on psychology of the arts, which was the forerunner of Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts (PACA). The name of the division was changed to the Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. In 2004, membership in the society was opened to all regardless of whether they or not they are members of APA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The reliability of the Comprehensive System for the Rorschach: A comment on Meyer (1997).

Elsewhere the authors have called attention to fundamental problems with the Comprehensive System for the Rorschach (CS). G. Meyer (1997) attempts to refute the authors' criticisms of CS interrater reliability, but misrepresents what they actually stated, and several of his arguments are based on psychometric errors and misunderstandings. The meta-analysis in Meyer's article is flawed and fails to demonstrate CS interrater reliability. Instead of defending the CS with unsound arguments and shaky numbers, Rorschach proponents need to accept valid criticisms and undertake high-quality replicated studies of reliability and validity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The flat earth as a metaphor for the evidence for uniform efficacy of bona fide psychotherapies: Reply to Crits-Christoph (1997) and Howard et al. (1997).

On the basis of a meta-analysis of comparisons of bona fide psychotherapies, B. E. Wampold et al. (1997) concluded that the available evidence supported the notion that all psychotherapies are nearly equal in terms of efficacy. K. I. Howard, M. S. Krause, S. M. Saunders, and S. M. Kopta (1997) and P. Crits-Christoph (1997) raised 4 general issues with this conclusion: (a) counterexamples, (b) untested alternative hypotheses, (c) methodological problems, and (d) adequacy of randomized clinical trials. Each of these issues is discussed, and it is asserted that empirically there is no basis to alter the conclusions reached in B. E. Wampold et al.'s (1997) meta-analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)