Managing Impressions Online: Self-Presentation Processes in the Online Dating Environment

This study investigates self-presentation strategies among online dating participants, exploring how participants manage their online presentation of self in order to accomplish the goal of finding a romantic partner. Thirty-four individuals active on a large online dating site participated in telephone interviews about their online dating experiences and perceptions. Qualitative data analysis suggests that participants attended to small cues online, mediated the tension between impression management pressures and the desire to present an authentic sense of self through tactics such as creating a profile that reflected their "ideal self," and attempted to establish the veracity of their identity claims. This study provides empirical support for Social Information Processing theory in a naturalistic context while offering insight into the complicated way in which "honesty" is enacted online.     

Magnetic resonance staging of neoplasms of the uterus

The treatment of patients with uterine neoplasms may be significantly altered by the stage of disease at the time of diagnosis. A noninvasive and accurate means of staging these tumors is therefore desirable. This article discusses the magnetic resonance imaging techniques and findings that are essential for the accurate staging of uterine neoplasms. The imaging findings are presented following a discussion of the histopathologic findings, clinical presentation, diagnosis and staging, pathways of tumor spread, and treatment of each neoplasm. A comparison of magnetic resonance and other imaging techniques is also provided.     

Differential contractile response of cultured microvascular pericytes to vasoactive agents

OBJECTIVE: Microvascular pericytes may contract in two different ways: In the first, a circumferential or radial mechanical force applied at right angles to the long axis of the vessel may constrict the underlying vessel affecting blood flow and transmural pressure. Retraction and elongation of pericyte processes may also occur tangentially and at right angles to the vessel axis and alter microvessel permeability by changing the amount of ablumenal surface covered or the openness of interendothelial junctions. In this study, cultured pericytes were utilized as a model experimental system to determine if vasoactive stimulation changes their shape in a manner consistent with this hypothesis. METHODS: Pericytes cultured from isolated rate capillaries were subjected to angiotensin II and histamine. Their response was monitored by measuring the area of non-yielding substrate covered by the pericytes and the manner in which their shape changed. Shape changes were quantified by calculating the surface area: perimeter perimeter ratios. RESULTS: Histamine significantly reduced surface area covered and the surface area:perimeter ratio. The pericyte processes retracted, resulting in elongated, spindle-shaped cells. These effects were nullified by the H1 blocker diphenhydramine suggesting a receptor-specific response. Angiotensin II also elicited contraction and reduced surface area, but the cells contracted laterally and longitudinally. The surface area: perimeter ratios also decreased. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that pericytes are capable of two types of contractile responses in culture, depending on the specific vasoactive stimulus.