Lack of cisplatin-ranitidine kinetic interactions: in vivo study in children, and in vitro study using dog renal brush border membrane vesicles

The interactions between cisplatin and organic ions have been extensively investigated in animal models for the potential to reduce cisplatin cellular uptake and resultant nephrotoxicity. To further investigate the beneficial interaction clinically, we studied the effects of the organic cation, ranitidine, on the renal handling of cisplatin in children. In parallel, we examined the effects of cisplatin on the uptake kinetics of organic cations and anions by brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV) prepared from dog renal cortex. The results indicate that: 1) there is no measurable effect of ranitidine on renal clearance of cisplatin in children; and 2) BBMV uptake of anionic p-aminohippurate, but not cationic N-methylnicotinamide, is inhibited by cisplatin at concentrations of <1 mM. These findings suggest that cisplatin may not share transport systems with organic cations to a clinically significant degree. Assuming that renal tubular transport is a prerequisite for cisplatin nephrotoxicity, the lack of apparent kinetic interactions between cisplatin and organic cations may preclude clinical use of organic cations as a modality to prevent cisplatin nephrotoxicity.     

As for the kings: A reply with regard to depression subtypes and antidepressant response.

The notion that depression subtyping would sharpen the antidepressant treatment advantage over placebo has been around for years. This article questions whether the endogenous–neurotic distinction has proven useful by briefly surveying the evidence on diagnostic reliability and predictability of treatment response. The issue of subtyping is then related to data from the meta-analysis on antidepressant efficacy (see record 1993-06735-001). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relations among categorization, induction, recognition, and similarity: Comment on Sloutsky and Fisher (2004).

V. M. Sloutsky and A. V. Fisher (see record 2004-14313-002) reported 5 experiments documenting relations among categorization, induction, recognition, and similarity in children as well as adults and proposed a new model of induction, SINC (similarity, induction, categorization). Those authors concluded that induction depends on perceptual similarity rather than conceptual knowledge. Despite the useful contributions of this work, there are some important limitations. The experimental designs examined a limited range of phenomena that are not the most revealing about the use of nonperceptual information. The main results involved a simple triad task, for which the SINC model's predictions are equivalent to the predictions of previous models of inductive reasoning. It is also unclear whether the SINC model can account for the observed relations between similarity and recognition. Implications for future work on induction and related cognitive activities are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mortality salience and the spreading activation of worldview-relevant constructs: Exploring the cognitive architecture of terror management.

Seven experiments assessed the hypothesis derived from terror management theory that reminding people of their mortality would increase accessibility of constructs central to their worldview. Experiment 1 found that mortality primes, relative to control primes, increased accessibility of nationalistic constructs for men but not for women. Experiment 2 replicated this finding and also found that mortality salience increased romantic accessibility for women but not for men. Four subsequent experiments supported the role of unconscious death-related ideation in producing these effects. A final experiment demonstrated that situational primes can increase the accessibility of nationalistic constructs for women after mortality salience. The roles of situational cues and individual differences in the effects of exposure to death-related stimuli on worldview-relevant construct accessibility are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of nicotine dose and administration method on withdrawal symptoms and side effects during short-term smoking abstinence.

The effects of using several different nicotine replacement treatments on self-reported withdrawal symptoms and side effects during 2-day periods of smoking cessation, with 5 days of ad lib smoking between cessation days, were evaluated. Participants (N ?=?18) experienced the following conditions: nicotine gum, 24-hr patch, 16-hr patch, 24-hr patch plus gum, double 24-hr patch, and no nicotine replacement. The present study found morning urge to smoke was greater during the 16-hr than during the 24-hr patch condition. Double-patch use resulted in significantly greater insomnia than the smoking baseline and 16-hr patch conditions. The no medication and gum alone conditions resulted in similar withdrawal symptoms, and both tended to result in greater reported withdrawal symptoms than the smoking baseline condition. There were no significant withdrawal symptom differences between the 24-hr, patch-gum, and double-patch conditions. The 24-hr and double-patch conditions were preferred by two thirds of the participants (6 each). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Terror management theory and self-esteem: Evidence that increased self-esteem reduced mortality salience effects.

On the basis of the terror management theory proposition that self-esteem provides protection against concerns about mortality, it was hypothesized that self-esteem would reduce the worldview defense produced by mortality salience (MS). The results of Exps 1 (49 undergraduates) and 2 (50 undergraduates) confirmed this hypothesis by showing that individuals with high self-esteem (manipulated in Exp 1; dispositional in Exp 2) did not respond to MS with increased worldview defense, whereas individuals with moderate self-esteem did. The results of Exp 3 (48 undergraduates) suggested that the effects of the 1st 2 experiments may have occurred because high self-esteem facilitates the suppression of death constructs following MS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Terror management and cognitive-experiential self-theory: Evidence that terror management occurs in the experiential system.

The authors hypothesized, on the basis of terror management theory and cognitive-experiential self-theory, that participants in an experiential mode of thinking would respond to mortality salience with increased worldview defense and increased accessibility of death-related thoughts, whereas participants in a rational mode would not. Results from 3 studies provided convergent evidence that when participants were in an experiential mode, mortality salience produced the typical worldview defense effect, but when participants were in a rational mode it did not. Study 4 revealed that mortality salience also led to a delayed increase in the accessibility of death-related thoughts only when participants were in an experiential mode. These results supported the notion that worldview defense is intensified only if individuals are in an experiential mode when considering their mortality. Discussion focuses on implications for understanding terror management processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidence for non-synchronous rotation of Europa. Galileo Imaging Team

Non-synchronous rotation of Europa was predicted on theoretical grounds, by considering the orbitally averaged torque exerted by Jupiter on the satellite's tidal bulges. If Europa's orbit were circular, or the satellite were comprised of a frictionless fluid without tidal dissipation, this torque would average to zero. However, Europa has a small forced eccentricity e approximately 0.01 , generated by its dynamical interaction with Io and Ganymede, which should cause the equilibrium spin rate of the satellite to be slightly faster than synchronous. Recent gravity data suggest that there may be a permanent asymmetry in Europa's interior mass distribution which is large enough to offset the tidal torque; hence, if non-synchronous rotation is observed, the surface is probably decoupled from the interior by a subsurface layer of liquid or ductile ice. Non-synchronous rotation was invoked to explain Europa's global system of lineaments and an equatorial region of rifting seen in Voyager images. Here we report an analysis of the orientation and distribution of these surface features, based on initial observations made by the Galileo spacecraft. We find evidence that Europa spins faster than the synchronous rate (or did so in the past), consistent with the possibility of a global subsurface ocean.     

Cost effectiveness of clinical training in a community mental health center.

The future of professional psychology may well rest on psychology training programs successfully defending their existence in purely monetary terms. This article examines the effectiveness of the training program of an urban mental health center that includes an American Psychological Association-accredited psychology internship. The training program was found to produce net revenues for the facility and to meet the training needs of its participants. Variables related to producing a cost effective psychology training program are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)