Development of species identification in ducklings: XIV. Malleability of species-specific perception.

Whereas auditory self-stimulation suffices to promote the mallard duckling's selective response to the maternal call of its species, wood ducklings must hear sibling vocalizations to maintain a selective response to the maternal call of their species. The present experiment was undertaken to determine whether the wood ducklings' dependence on environmental stimulation signified that their species-specific perceptual development might be more malleable than that of the mallard ducklings. In order to examine the malleability of species-specific perceptual development, each species of duckling was exposed to the maternal call of the other species, along with sibling vocalizations from their own species, in order to see whether a preference for the alien species maternal call could be induced. Under these conditions the wood ducklings developed a preference for the mallard call over the wood duck call, but the mallard ducklings' preference for the mallard call was unaffected by exposure to the wood duck call. Therefore, as predicted, the species-specific perceptual development of wood ducklings is more malleable than that of mallard duckling. Environmental or social dependence is thus correlated with a malleable species-specific perceptual development, and effective self-stimulation is correlated with a resistance to species-specific perceptual modification. Other experimental results do suggest that self-stimulation may canalize perceptual development in mallard ducklings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biological activities of some Argyranthemum species

Seven species of the genus Argyranthemum were studied for antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities. Argyranthemum adauctum, A. foeniculaceum and A. frutescens showed antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative and cytotoxic activity against HeLa and Hep-2 cell lines. Two new acetylenic compounds, frutescinol isovalerate and 3'-demethyl frutescinol isovalerate, were isolated from A. frutescens and their structures elucidated by spectroscopic studies.     

Relationship between chemical structure and sweetness. XIV. Analogs of aspartame

Several analogs structurally related to aspartame were prepared in order to establish if chemical modifications of the molecule might improve sweetness. None of these analogs exhibited any sweet taste; on the contrary in most cases they were bitter.     

New quinazolinones-4. Antiinflammatory and anticonvulsant agents. New classes of pharmacologically active compounds

Significant factors implicated in staff turnover include: variables in organizational structure; employee characteristics; needs and values, and the nature of tasks performed. This article will present the causative factors related to turnover and the conceptual models of the motivational theorists Maslow, Herzberg, Adams, and Mobley. No quantitative or qualitative research could be found on the potential causes of turnover in freestanding dialysis clinics. The staff turnover of a for-profit dialysis company for a 12 month period will be reported by job title, tenure, and level of job satisfaction.     

Studies on constituents of medicinal plants. XVI. The constituents of Spiraea species (author''s transl)

A rare case of downward displacement of the left kidney caused by marked development of an ectopic ovarian cyst in the left subphrenic region is presented. Exact diagnosis could not be made preoperatively but a satisfactory result was obtained by removal of the cyst. Histological diagnosis of the tumor was serous cystadenoma arising from the left ovary.     

Antiinflammatory and antiproteolytic properties of substituted-4-thiazolidones

Eleven 3-(3,4-diamethoxy phenyl ethyl)-4-oxothiazolin-2-yl-substituted hydrozones were evaluated for antiinflammatory and antiproteolytic properties. The toxicity of the compounds was reflected by their approximate LD50 values.     

Phytochemical evaluation of essential oils, medicinal plants and their preparations

The central objectives of GLAS are (a) to study the associations between pathology--and related impairments and disability--on the one hand, and well-being and utilization of care among older people on the other, and (b) how these associations are affected by person-bound and environmental factors. The present paper describes the main research questions, the design and some preliminary results of GLAS. In addition, an explanatory model for well-being, derived from the theory of social-production functions (spf) is elaborated. Two major conclusions can be drawn from these results. (1) The hypotheses derived from spf are mainly supported by the results of several substudies of GLAS. (2) The cross-sectional analyses showed main effects of psychological attributes--independent of pathology and impairments--on disability and well-being; we hardly found any empirical support for the hypothesized moderating effects of psychological attributes on the associations between these concepts. We conclude with some suggestions for future research.     

Synthesis of potential hydrazinoamine tuberculostatics. XIV. Reactions of 2-aminoethylhydrazine with ketones

The role of brain catecholaminergic mechanisms in habituation of activity was investigated in rat pups treated with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). Intracisternal administration of this agent in the neonatal period resulted in a permanent and significant depletion of brain dopamine to 35.5% of controls while brain norepinephrine remained unchanged. Activity levels in normal developing rat pups increased rapidly between 15-22 days, then declined at maturity (26 days), while activity in 6-OHDA treated animals during this peak period of behavioral arousal increased to a significantly greater degree than that of their littermate controls. Habituation of activity, defined as the decrement of spontaneous activity, was calculated by regression over the first 30 min of observation. At both 5 and 8 days of age 6-OHDA and control rat pups exhibited low levels of activity whose decrease with time did not differ significantly and this pattern continued through 12 days of age. However, by 15 days of age activity in control animals declined by 19% each 10 min period compared to only a 10% decline found in 6-OHDA animals. At 19 days normal rat pups declined by 10% compared to a significantly reduced decrement of 3% found in treated animals, but these differences were no longer apparent by 22, 26, or 29 days of age. Our results are consistent with the notion that habituation of activity is a complex phenomenon mediated in part by catecholaminergic systems.     

Antiinflammatory and analgesic activity of an inhibitor of neuropeptide amidation

4-Phenyl-3-butenoic acid (PBA) has been shown in vitro to be a turnover-dependent inactivator of peptidylglycine alpha-monooxygenase (PAM), the rate-limiting enzyme involved in the formation of amidated neuropeptides from their glycine-extended precursors. In the studies reported herein, we have shown that PBA produces a dose-dependent (50-500 mg/kg s.c.) inhibition of serum PAM activity in normal rats without affecting peptidylamidoglycolate lyase activity. Because amidated neuropeptides such as substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide are involved in acute inflammation, we evaluated the effects of PBA on carrageenan-induced inflammation in rats. The acute administration of PBA (s.c. or i.p.) produced a dose-related inhibition of edema with maximum inhibition (67%) observed at 2 hr postphlogistic agent. In addition, the continuous administration of PBA to animals over a 7-day period using osmotic pumps not only inhibited hind paw swelling induced by carrageenan but also inhibited serum PAM activity and reduced tissue levels of substance P in hind paws. These results demonstrate for the first time a correlation between the antiinflammatory activity produced by an inhibitor of peptide amidation with its ability to inhibit serum PAM activity and lower endogenous tissue levels of substance P. Moreover, these results confirm our contention that PAM is an excellent pharmacological target for controlling the acute inflammatory response. We also demonstrate the ability of PBA to inhibit phenyl-p-quinone and acetylcholine-induced writhing in mice without affecting the spinally mediated tail immersion assay in rats. Because this analgesic effect was extremely rapid (within 15 min), PBA may be producing this effect by a mechanism other than peptide amidation.     

Temperature-sensitive mutants of influenza A virus. XIV. Production and evaluation of influenza A/Georgia/74-ts-1[E] recombinant viruses in human adults

The two temperature-sensitive (ts) lesions present in influenza A/Hong Kong/68-ts-1[E] (H3N2 68) virus were transferred via genetic reassortment to influenza A/Georgia/74 (H3N2 74) wild-type virus. A recombinant clone possessing both ts lesions and the shutoff temperature of 38 C of the Hong Kong/68 ts donor and the two surface antigens of the Georgia/74 wild-type virus was administered to 32 seronegative adult volunteers. Thirty-one volunteers were infected, of whom only five experienced mild afebrile upper respiratory tract illness. The wild-type recipient virus was a cloned population that induced illness in five of six infected volunteers. Therfore, the attenuation exhibited by the Georgia/74-ts-1[E] virus could reasonably be assumed to be due to the acquisition of the two ts-1[E] lesions by the Georgia/74 wild-type virus. The serum and nasal wash antibody responses of the ts-1[E] vaccinees were equivalent to those of the volunteers who received wild-type virus. The two ts lesions present in the Hong Kong/68-ts-1[E] virus have now been transferred three times to a wild-type virus bearing a new hemagglutinin, and in each instance the new ts recombination exhibited a similar, satisfactory level of attenuation and antigenicity for adults. It seems likely that the transfer of the ts-1[E] lesions to any new influenza virus will regularly result in attenuation of a recombinat virus possessing the new surface antigens.     

The Wisconsin Epidemiologic Study of diabetic retinopathy. XIV. Ten-year incidence and progression of diabetic retinopathy

OBJECTIVE: To examine the 10-year incidence and progression of diabetic retinopathy. DESIGN: Population-based incidence study. PARTICIPANTS: Seven hundred sixty-five insulin-taking diabetic persons diagnosed before age 30 years, 251 insulin-taking diabetic persons diagnosed at age 30 years or older, and 282 non-insulin-taking diabetic persons diagnosed at age 30 years or older who participated in baseline, 4-year, and 10-year follow-up examinations. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The 10-year incidence of any retinopathy, progression of retinopathy, and progression to proliferative retinopathy were detected by masked grading of stereoscopic color fundus photographs using the modified Airlie House classification and the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study severity scheme. RESULTS: The 10-year incidence of retinopathy (89%, 79%, and 67%), progression of retinopathy (76%, 69%, and 53%), and progression to proliferative retinopathy (30%, 24%, and 10%) were highest in the group diagnosed before age 30 years, intermediate in the insulin-taking group diagnosed at age 30 years or older, and lowest in the non-insulin-taking group, respectively. Increased risk of proliferative retinopathy was associated with more severe retinopathy at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest relatively high 10-year rates of incidence and progression of retinopathy, and despite changes in the treatment of diabetes, there has been little change in the incidence and progression of diabetic retinopathy during the 10-year study period.     

Biological evaluation of two anomeric glucose analogues iodinated in position 6

Two anomeric analogues of glucose labelled with 123 iodine in position 6, proposed as tracers of glucose transport in vivo, have been synthesized: alpha- and beta-methyl-6-deoxy-6-iodo-D-glucopyranoside (alpha MDIG and beta MDIG). The aim of this study was to determine whether these molecules interact with the glucose transporter and whether they could be used as tracers of glucose transport in vivo. The biodistribution of alpha MDIG and beta MDIG was studied in the mouse in vivo. To determine if these two anomers enter the cell via the glucose transporter, their uptake was measured in isolated perfused rat hearts, in human erythrocytes in suspension, and in cardiomyocytes of neonatal rat in culture. Both alpha MDIG and beta MDIG had similar repartitions in the mouse: myocardial uptake averaged 7% of the injected dose/g of organ at 2 min postinjection and alpha MDIG competed with D-glucose to enter the cells. Insulin produced a 123% increase of its uptake in isolated perfused rat hearts and a 100% increase in cardiomyocytes of neonatal rat in culture. alpha MDIG uptake was lowered in the presence of glucose transport inhibitors in each experimental model. An interaction between beta MDIG and glucose transporters was observed only in human erythrocytes in suspension. Only alpha MDIG interacts with the glucose transporter, and thus could be used to estimate glucose transport in vivo.     

Aging and the Perception of Biological Motion.

Two experiments examined how observers' ability to perceive biological motion changes with increasing age. The observers discriminated among kinetic figures, depicting walking, jogging, and skipping. The direction, duration, and temporal correspondence of the motions were manipulated. Quantitative differences occurred between the recognition performances of younger and older observers, but these differences were often modest. The older and younger observers' performances were comparable for most conditions at stimulus durations of 400 ms. The older observers also performed well above chance at shorter durations of 240 and 120 ms. Unlike their performance on other 2- or 3-dimensional motion tasks, older observers' ability to perceive biological motion is relatively well preserved. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)