Different ventilatory approaches to keep the lung open

From a total of 62,858 autopsy files kept over a 30-year period (1961-1990), all cases that met the following criteria were extracted: (a) main tumor masses in the peritoneum with no evidence of origin from any adjacent organ; (b) histologic features suggestive of serous ovarian carcinoma; (c) ovaries definitely recognizable as having either no tumorous involvement or tumor confined to the surface and cortex of the ovaries; and (d) in patients with a history of abdominal operations, availability of slides and reports. From 670 stages III and IV serous carcinomas of the ovary, we retrieved 57 cases (8%) of serous surface papillary carcinoma (SSPC) of the peritoneum. All SSPCs occurred in women with an age range from 47 to 84 years (median 66 years). Eight cases (14%) were grade I, 36 (63%) were grade II, and 13 (23%) were grade III. Histologically, four cases (7%) resembled malignant epithelial mesothelioma in major parts of the tumor, and in one case endometrioid differentiation of the tumor was conspicuous. Additional histochemical and immunohistochemical examinations were performed in 30 cases of SSPC. In 14 cases (47%) neutral mucosubstances were identified by periodic acid-Schiff positivity after diastase predigestion, and in 16 cases (53%) acid mucosubstances were identified by alcian blue staining. In one of these cases the alcian blue-positive substances were abolished under predigestion by testicular hyaluronidase. Tumor cells stained positive for cytokeratin (100% of the cases), B72.3 (90%), Ber-EP4 (83%), CD 15 (57%), placental alkaline phosphatase (53%), CA 125 (43%), vimentin (23%), and carcinoembryonic antigen (10%). The survival rates at 1 year for SSPC (0%) were significantly shorter (p = 0.03) in comparison with stages III and IV ovarian carcinomas (34%). Problems of definition and differential diagnosis of SSPC are discussed.     

Strategies for the nurse executive to keep the rural hospitals open

Rural hospitals are confronted with multiple challenges to survive in the competitive health care environment of today's world. Declining population, corporate mergers and downsizing, transportation, cost of technology, and health manpower shortages are only a few of the issues rural hospitals must be prepared to address in order to survive. Federal- and state-administered programs are available that can contribute to the survival of the rural hospital. The nurse executive has a key role in contributing to the planning, development, and implementation of survival strategies.     

A time to speak, or a time to keep silence?

Responds to E. F. Loftus's (see record 1984-06608-001) comments on M. McCloskey and H. E. Egeth's (see record 1984-06612-001) previous article in which the authors argue against psychologists testifying in court as expert witnesses on the validity of eyewitness testimony. Loftus presents documented cases of convictions of innocent people based on faulty eyewitness accounts, and she argues that expert testimony by psychologists could correct misconceptions jurors may hold. The present authors answer Loftus's criticisms and contrast their views with hers in the areas of empirical support for conclusive statements, perspectives on interventions, and focus on innocence. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two generations of spore research: from father to son

Induction of cytochrome P-4501A protein and induction of related enzyme activity are hallmark physiological responses following exposure to planar halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (HAHs) such as 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB 126; PeCB). Environments contaminated by HAHs are often contaminated by mixtures of anthropogenic contaminants, including organometallic compounds. Both HAHs and organometallics easily bioconcentrate and bioaccumulate in aquatic food chains that may ultimately be linked to humans through seafood consumption. Tributyltin (TBT), a marine biocide, has been detected in many aquatic environments due to its primary use as a marine antifoulant agent. Exposure to TBT, as well as several PCBs, has been associated with immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, and endocrine disruption. Recently TBT has been shown to inhibit cytochrome P-4501A activity in vitro, but information concerning these effects in vivo and in combination with classical inducers of P-4501A, such PeCB, is lacking. We exposed female B6C3F1 mice to 0.01, 0.1, and 1.0 mg/kg PeCB, TBT, or both in combination, with corn oil (CO) serving as a carrier control. Cytochrome P-4501A protein levels and related benzo[a]pyrene hydroxylation (BaP-OHase) activity were measured following a single acute intraperitoneal (ip) dose or seven daily injections. Body, thymus, and liver weights were used to monitor general physiological responses following exposure. P-4501A levels and BaP-OHase activity were significantly elevated in mice exposed to PeCB alone. This effect was enhanced by coexposure to low levels of TBT; PeCB-induced P-4501A-related activity was potentiated at the low range of each. The highest dose of TBT, however, inhibited these activities when given in combination with PeCB. Thymic atrophy was evident only in mice exposed daily to 0:1 and 1.0 mg/kg PeCB alone, or to a combination of the lowest and highest dose of PeCB and TBT, respectively. Because environmental levels of TBT are not expected to be as high as the highest level used in our toxicological studies, we conclude that environmental exposure to TBT may potentiate, rather than inhibit, the activity of environmental levels of HAHs that are associated with P-4501A induction.     

Life is pleasant--and memory helps to keep it that way!

People's recollections of the past are often positively biased. This bias has 2 causes. The 1st cause lies in people's perceptions of events. The authors review the results of several studies and present several new comparative analyses of these studies, all of which indicate that people perceive events in their lives to more often be pleasant than unpleasant. A 2nd cause is the fading affect bias: The affect associated with unpleasant events fades faster than the affect associated with pleasant events. The authors review the results of several studies documenting this bias and present evidence indicating that dysphoria (mild depression) disrupts such bias. Taken together, this evidence suggests that autobiographical memory represents an important exception to the theoretical claim that bad is stronger than good. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leukocyte differentiation antigens. How to keep up with the litany of CD antigens

Distigmine bromide is a long-acting anticholinesterase, available for the treatment of postoperative urinary retention. Its effectiveness is unproven and administration may be hazardous. We describe a case in which oral distigmine bromide was used for postoperative retention, resulting in a potentially life-threatening 'cholinergic crisis'. We review the literature and conclude that the use of oral distigmine bromide in postoperative urinary retention is not justified.     

Interference to ongoing activities covaries with the characteristics of an event-based intention.

Previous studies of event-based prospective memory have demonstrated that the character of an ongoing task can affect cue detection. By contrast, this study demonstrated that there is a reciprocal relationship insofar as cue-verification and response-retrieval processes interfered with making a response in the ongoing task. The amount of interference was determined by the type of intention, which was manipulated to affect the complexity of verification and retrospective response retrieval. These relationships were true even when the interference caused by cue detection was separated from a more general effect to ongoing-task performance caused by shifts in attentional allocation policies. The results have theoretical implications for models that attempt to specify the cognitive microstructure of event-based prospective memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The transition to reaching: mapping intention and intrinsic dynamics

The onset of directed reaching demarks the emergence of a qualitatively new skill. In this study we asked how intentional reaching arises from infants' ongoing, intrinsic movement dynamics, and how first reaches become successively adapted to the task. We observed 4 infants weekly in a standard reaching task and identified the week of first arm-extended reach, and the 2 weeks before and after onset. The infants first reached at ages ranging from 12 to 22 weeks, and they used different strategies to get the toy. 2 infants, whose spontaneous movements were large and vigorous, damped down their fast, forceful movements. The 2 quieter infants generated faster and more energetic movements to lift their arms. The infants modulated reaches in task-appropriate ways in the weeks following onset. Reaching emerges when infants can intentionally adjust the force and compliance of the arm, often using muscle coactivation. These results suggest that the infant central nervous system does not contain programs that detail hand trajectory, joint coordination, and muscle activation patterns. Rather, these patterns are the consequences of the natural dynamics of the system and the active exploration of the match between those dynamics and the task.     

Two separate verbal processing rates contributing to short-term memory span

Previous research indicates that verbal memory span, the number of words people can remember and immediately repeat, is related to the fastest rate at which they can pronounce the words. This relation, in turn, has been attributed to a general or global rate of information processing that differs among individuals and changes with age. However, the experiments described in this article showed that the rates of 2 processes (rapid articulation and the retrieval of words from short-term memory) are related to memory span but not to each other. Memory span depends on a profile of processing rates in the brain, not only a global rate. Moreover, there appears to be only a partial overlap between the rate variables that change with age and those that differ among individuals.