Semat—Three Year Vision

The purpose of writing this Three Year Vision paper is threefold. Firstly, it briefly recaps the progress Semat has made thus far; secondly, it lays out the future directions for people working actively within the Semat community; thirdly, it provides the background for seeking funding support from agencies, such as the European Community and the like. Funding support is necessary to sustain the ongoing activities of Semat and its growth into a broader community effort, as most people working within Semat are volunteers. As such, the paper may be both too much and too little for the wider supporter base. However, we intend to make our work fully transparent, hence, we publish it widely. We seek feedback and comments from supporters and signatories in order to improve the vision. In this context, other companion papers are being written to better address the specific needs for the practitioners, the industry and the academia.     

Severe gastrointestinal hemorrhage due to Mycobacterium avium complex in a patient receiving immunosuppressive therapy

Intense immunosuppressive therapy is used frequently for treatment of systemic vasculitides, collagenoses, rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis, and after organ transplantation. Numerous serious treatment-related side effects include localized or disseminated opportunistic infections, and require careful monitoring of immunosuppressed patients. Gastrointestinal infections with Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) or other nontuberculous mycobacteria have been previously identified in HIV seropositive patients only. We now report the first case of an HIV seronegative patient who received immunosuppressive therapy for rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis. The patient presented with severe lower gastrointestinal bleeding and was diagnosed to have ulcerative colitis due to infection with MAC. The patient recovered promptly after administration of antimycobacterial therapy. MAC infection should be included in the differential diagnosis of gastrointestinal bleeding in all immunodeficient patients. The significance of repeated colonoscopy to obtain multiple biopsy specimens with histological examination for foam cells and specific staining for acid-fast organisms is emphasized.     

Role of the pituitary-adrenal hormones in the acquisition of schedule-induced polydipsia.

Adrenalectomized female rats failed to develop schedule-induced polydipsia (SIP). Dexamethasone (DEX) injections failed to reinstate SIP in adrenalectomized rats. They did not prevent intact rats from acquiring SIP but interfered with subsequent expression of this behavior. In contrast, corticosterone, the rats' normally occurring glucocorticoid, fully restored the acquisition and subsequent expression of SIP in adrenalectomized rats. This strongly suggests that corticosterone plays an essential role in the normal acquisition and development of this behavior. Data are interpreted in the context of current information concerning adrenal hormone receptors. It is hypothesized that SIP acquisition is at least partly regulated by the Type I (mineralocorticoid) receptor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Body image and asymmetry of body reactivity.

The hypothesis tested was that the more definitely one distinguishes the right and left sides of his body in his body image, the more likely he is to show differential reactivity in the left vs. right sides of his body. Ss compared homologous body parts while viewing them through aniseikonic lenses to determine body-image differentiation. Body reactivity was determined by means of GSR recordings. Right handed Ss who clearly distinguished their right and left body sides were likely to show a GSR gradient showing the left side to be more reactive than the right. 21 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Vasopeptidase inhibitors: incorporation of geminal and spirocyclic substituted azepinones in mercaptoacyl dipeptides

A series of 7-(di)alkyl and spirocyclic substituted azepinones were generated and incorporated as conformationally restricted dipeptide surrogates in mercaptoacyl dipeptides. Clear structure-activity relationships with respect to both angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and neutral endopeptidase (NEP) activity in vitro were observed. The best in this series, compound 1g, a geminally dimethylated C-7-substituted azepinone, demonstrated excellent blood pressure lowering in animal models. Compound 1g (BMS-189921) is characterized by a good duration of activity and excellent oral efficacy in models relevant to ACE or NEP inhibition, and its activity is comparable to that of the clinically efficacious agent omapatrilat. Consequently this inhibitor has been advanced clinically for the treatment of hypertension and congestive heart failure.     

Computation of object approach by a wide-field, motion-sensitive neuron

The lobula giant motion detector (LGMD) in the locust visual system is a wide-field, motion-sensitive neuron that responds vigorously to objects approaching the animal on a collision course. We investigated the computation performed by LGMD when it responds to approaching objects by recording the activity of its postsynaptic target, the descending contralateral motion detector (DCMD). In each animal, peak DCMD activity occurred a fixed delay delta (15 相似文献   

The relation of rational and experiential information processing styles to personality, basic beliefs, and the ratio-bias phenomenon.

A new version of the Rational-Experiential Inventory (REI), which measures rational and experiential thinking styles and includes subscales of self-reported ability and engagement, was examined in two studies. In Study 1, the two main scales were independent, and they and their subscales exhibited discriminant validity and contributed to the prediction of a variety of measures beyond the contribution of the Big Five scales. A rational thinking style was most strongly and directly related to ego strength, openness, conscientiousness, and favorable basic beliefs about the self and the world, and it was most strongly inversely related to Neuroticism and Conservatism. An experiential thinking style was most strongly directly related to Extraversion, Agreeableness, Favorable Relationships Beliefs, and Emotional Expressivity, and it was most strongly inversely related to Categorical Thinking, Distrust of Others, and Intolerance. In Study 2, a rational thinking style was inversely related and an experiential thinking style was unrelated to nonoptimal responses in a game of chance. It was concluded that the new REI is a significant improvement over the previous version and measures unique aspects of personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)