Friedreich's disease, diabetes and pregnancy. Description of a case

Birth of an infant at term to a diabetic woman with a severe form of Friedreich's disease is reported. The aetiopathogenesis of the cardiac deformities that led to the death of the child on day seven of life is discussed.     

The developmental psychometrics of big five self-reports: Acquiescence, factor structure, coherence, and differentiation from ages 10 to 20.

How do youths' personality reports differ from those of adults? To identify the year-by-year timing of developmental trends from late childhood (age 10) to early adulthood (age 20), the authors examined Big Five self-report data from a large and diverse Internet sample. At younger ages within this range, there were large individual differences in acquiescent responding, and acquiescence variability had pronounced effects on psychometric characteristics. Beyond the effects of acquiescence, self-reports generally became more coherent within domains, and better differentiated across domains, at older ages. Importantly, however, different Big Five domains showed different developmental trends. Extraversion showed especially pronounced age gains in coherence but no gains in differentiation. In contrast, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness showed large age gains in differentiation but only trivial gains in coherence. Neuroticism and Openness showed moderate gains in both coherence and differentiation. Comparisons of items that were relatively easy versus difficult to comprehend indicated that these patterns were not simply due to verbal comprehension. These findings have important implications for the study of personality characteristics and other psychological attributes in childhood and adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Men and psychotherapy: An investigation of alexithymia, intimacy, and masculine gender roles.

Psychological theories have long emphasized the roles of emotions in healthy functioning and in psychotherapy. However, the masculine socialization process has been hypothesized to encourage men to devalue and restrict much of their emotional experiencing (e.g., Brannon, 1976; Levant, 1992; O'Neil, 1981). This study of 208 men used two operationalizations of traditional masculine gender role socialization and found evidence that men reporting greater gender role conflict also acknowledged greater levels of alexithymia and fear of intimacy, even after controlling for socially desirable responding. Implications for psychotherapy and for future theory and research are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Shyness, masculine ideology, physical attractiveness, and emotional inexpressiveness: Testing a mediational model of men's interpersonal competence.

Amodel was tested in which emotional inexpressiveness fully mediates the relation of shyness, gender identity, and physical attractiveness with men's interpersonal competence. Structural equation modeling of the results of Study 1 showed that fully and partially mediated (i.e., direct and indirect paths) models fit the data equally well. Study 2 modifications to the model included replacing gender identity with masculine ideology and conducting a multidimensional assessment of competence. Results indicated that the partially mediated model was better in explaining the data; however, the model was replicated in that emotional inexpressiveness mediated the relations of shyness and masculine ideology with interpersonal competence. Implications of the results for modification of the model and for counseling practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adherence in childhood diabetes: Results of a confirmatory factor analysis.

Tested the equality of the factor pattern of adherence to treatment of childhood diabetes identified by S. B. Johnson et al (see record 1988-05437-001) across 2 independent samples. Samples of 162 and 157 diabetics (aged 6–18 yrs) were studied. Factors 1–4, Exercise, Injection, Diet Type, and Eating/Testing Frequency, were confirmed. Factor 5, Diet Amount, proved to be too complex; the adherence measures comprising this factor (total calories and concentrated sweets consumed) are best treated as separate, single-indicator constructs. Results support a multivariate concept of adherence, offer insight into the nature of the components underlying diabetes adherence, and provide measurement information for reliable component estimation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of infection as a risk factor for atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, and stroke

An increasing body of evidence has linked infections to atherosclerosis and thrombosis. Herpesviruses cause atherosclerosis in experimental animals. Herpesviruses can also be detected in atherosclerotic lesions in humans. Cytomegalovirus may play a role in arteriosclerosis in transplanted hearts, and this virus, together with tumor suppressor protein p53, can be found in restenosis lesions following angioplasty. Chlamydia pneumoniae and dental infections are associated with coronary heart disease in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, and preceding respiratory infections are associated with ischemic stroke. Infections may favor formation of atherosclerosis and thrombosis by elevation of blood levels of fibrinogen, leukocytes, clotting factor, and cytokines and by alteration of the metabolism and functions of endothelial cells and monocyte macrophages. Low-grade infections may also be one of the causes of the inflammatory reaction observed in atherosclerotic lesions and acute ischemic symptoms, reflected in elevated levels of C-reactive protein. These observations warrant further studies in this field.     

Analytic psychology and gender role conflict: The development of the fragile masculine self.

There is a need to undertake a comprehensive approach to understanding gender specific challenges and solutions. This includes understanding the gender role related conflicts men experience. It also includes a reexamination of some of the long-held beliefs regarding men and masculinity including a gender identity socialized to conceptualize a sense of self that emphasizes independence to the exclusion of relational strivings. There is also the emphasis in male socialization to avoid the "feminine" in hopes that this will enhance the masculine identity. It is argued here that for many men, following this course of gender socialization has led to the development of a fragile masculine self. The fragile masculine self is conceptualized from an analytic psychology perspective, integrating aspects of intrapsychic development with psychosocial aspects of O'Neil's gender role conflict paradigm. Combining aspects of the intrapsychic with that of psychosocial forces leads to the development of a new model for conceptualizing and working with men in individual and group therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Range as a factor determining the information of loudness judgments: Overcoming small sample bias.

Experiments on the absolute identification of pure tones were conducted at a single frequency with 3 Ss (aged 18, 25, and 52 yrs) to explore several effects. The change in transmitted information as the stimulus range was varied was measured as well as the change in transmitted information as the number of categories within a fixed range was increased. In the former case, information increased with increasing range. In the latter case, information increased with increasing number of categories, but the increase was due to a purely mathematical effect. Transmitted information was estimated by means of computer simulation designed to overcome, in part, small sample bias. This simulator is of potential use to others by helping them calculate transmitted or mutual information accurately using a minimum number of experimental trials. The graph of calculated information against number of trials was found to assume a characteristic shape. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial adjustment to and control of diabetes mellitus: Differences by disease type and treatment.

Studied the effects of clinically different types of diabetes and different treatment regimes on the psychosocial adjustment to the disease of 56 Ss with insulin dependent diabetes and 372 noninsulin dependent diabetics. The reliability and validity of the Diabetes Educational Profile, developed for assessment in this study, were examined and supported. Diabetes control was related to disease type and treatment. Psychosocial adjustment was related to disease type and treatment, and control was related to psychosocial adjustment. In assessing the clinical status of diabetics, any evaluation that includes psychosocial adjustment or diabetes control must consider the disease type and treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Breast cancer and prognostic factors. Tumour size, degree of differentiation, proliferation kinetics and expression of steroid hormone receptors

In a group of 161 patients with operable cancer of the breast, tumour size, axillary node status and histopathological grading were correlated. Furthermore, steroid hormone receptor status was assessed both biochemically and immunohistochemically. The rate of Ki67-positive cells, the ploidy status and the S-phase fraction of the carcinoma, as assessed by means of flow-cytometry, were measured and correlated with tumour size and conventional histopathological grading. As expected, a significant correlation between tumour size and the frequency of axillary lymph node metastases was found (p < 0.00001). There was however, also a significant increase of undifferentiated cancers with increasing tumour size (p < 0.001). There was no correlation between steroid hormone receptor expression and grading but a slight decrease of immunohistochemically oestrogen receptor positive cancers with increasing tumour size (p < 0.02). On the other hand, there was a marked increase of both Ki67-score (p < 0.003) and S-phase fraction (p < 0.001) with increasing tumour size. Neither of the first two parameters correlated significantly with grading. The frequency of aneuploid tumours was dependent on tumour size (p < 0.05) as well as grading (p < 0.01). The findings point towards a change of biological properties of the cancer during the course of growth, such as histopathological dedifferentiation and increased proliferation fraction and frequency of aneuploid tumours. The expression of steroid hormone receptors however is virtually unchanged.     

The association of increasing dietary concentrations of fish oil with hepatotoxic effects and a higher degree of aorta atherosclerosis in the ad lib.-fed rabbit

The long-term effects of consumption of marine long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) on atherosclerosis in the rabbit were examined. Female Dutch rabbits were fed purified diets, containing 40 energy% total fat, for a period of 2.5 years. To study the dose response relationship between fish oil intake and atherosclerosis, four diets were formulated with fish oil levels being 0, 1, 10 and 20 energy%. A fifth and sixth group were fed an alpha-linolenic acid-(C18:3, n-3) and linoleic acid-(C18:2, n-6) rich diet, respectively. Every 6 weeks, blood samples were taken for determination of clinical chemical parameters, triacylglycerol and total cholesterol levels. Feeding 10 and 20 energy% fish oil containing diets, resulted in an increase of liver enzymes (AST, ALT and ALP). Histological evaluation of the liver also revealed adverse effects of fish oil containing diets. Triacylglycerol blood levels were similar in all groups, and remained constant throughout the study. Total cholesterol levels in blood was significantly lower in the animals fed a linoleic acid-rich diet, as compared with the other five groups. An n-3 long-chain PUFA concentration dependent increase in aorta plaque surface area was observed in the fish oil groups. A significant positive relationship was found between the group mean score for severity of liver pathology and the aorta plaque surface area. These results indicate that the long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish oil may be hepatotoxic to the herbivorous rabbit, which may interfere with the outcome of atherosclerosis studies. This finding necessitates the exclusion of liver pathology in experimental studies on atherosclerosis in animal models.     

Working with the masculine mystique: Male gender role conflict, counseling self-efficacy, and the training of male psychologists.

Psychologists must be prepared to serve increasingly diverse clients. However, research suggests that specific consequences of a traditional male socialization, collectively known as gender role conflict (GRC), interfere with trainees' developing appropriate therapeutic skills with certain populations. In an effort to address this, and to inform those involved in the training and supervision of male therapists, this article discusses (a) the theory of male GRC, (b) its relationship to the clinical performance of male psychologists, (c) links between that relationship and sense of self-efficacy as a therapist, and (d) specific suggestions for addressing GRC during the course of clinical training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Growth/differentiation factor 5 and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor enhance survival and function of dopaminergic grafts in a rat model of Parkinson's disease

Growth/differentiation factor 5 is a member of the transforming growth factor beta superfamily, which has neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects on dopaminergic neurons both in vitro and in vivo. Here we investigate the effects of growth/differentiation factor 5 on foetal mesencephalic grafts transplanted into a rat model of Parkinson's disease, and compare them with those of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor. Mesencephalic tissue was suspended in solutions containing either growth/differentiation factor 5 or glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor prior to transplantation into the left striatum of rats with 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the left medial forebrain bundle. Both proteins enhanced graft-induced compensation of amphetamine-stimulated rotations. Positron emission tomography studies showed that both neurotrophins increased graft-induced recovery of striatal binding of [11C]RTI-121, a marker for dopaminergic nerve terminals. Post mortem analysis at 8 weeks after transplantation showed that both neurotrophins significantly increased the survival of grafted dopaminergic neurons. This study shows that growth/differentiation factor 5 is at least as effective as glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor in enhancing the survival and functional activity of mesencephalic grafts, and thus is an important candidate for use in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.     

"The questionable value of a master's degree for a PhD-pursuing student": Comment.

Responds to R. J. Howell and M. L. Murdock's (see record 1973-05428-001) negative evaluation of the master's degree from non-PhD-granting institutions. The success is described of a master's program designed to prepare students for doctoral work elsewhere. Data from one year show that all of the master's program graduates who applied for further study were accepted and that 80% were accepted into schools classified in the top-rated category used by Howell and Murdock. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interacting mechanisms during the formation of filial preferences: The development of a predisposition does not prevent learning.

It has previously been demonstrated that under certain circumstances, 2-day-old dark-reared chicks prefer a stimulus that resembles a conspecific to less naturalistic objects. In our first three experiments, we assessed whether exposure to the latter type of object, after the predisposition had developed, affected chicks' preferences. The results of these experiments show that at the time that chicks are predisposed to approach stimuli such as a stuffed fowl, they are still capable of learning the characteristics of other objects by being exposed to them. The results of Experiment 4 show that, under rearing conditions in which the predisposition does not develop, exposure to an artificial stimulus leads to a strong preference being established for that stimulus. That is, when the predisposition is not expressed, preference is determined solely by exposure to an object. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structure versus processing deficits in Alzheimer's disease, a matter of degree: A comment on Storms et al. (2003).

G. Stories, T. Dirikx, J. Saerens, S. Verstraeten, and P. P. De Deyn (2003) argued that multidimensional scaling studies are ill-suited for investigating semantic deficits in individuals diagnosed with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) because such individuals show great inter- and intraindividual variability in their proximity judgments. Discussed in this commentary are (a) the possible role of attentional set in producing inconsistent performance across trials, (b) the implications of attentional factors on the structure versus process debate, and (c) the inevitable semantic degradation following severe progression of the disease. A framework is presented for considering nonlinear performance differences as a function of attentional demands of the task, vulnerability of the semantic representation, and progression of the disease. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)