Attachment, accountability, and motivation to benefit another not in distress.

Investigated the nature of the motivation—egoistic or altruistic—involved in benefiting another person not in distress. It was hypothesized that in the absence of emotional attachment arising from a prior relationship with the person benefited, the motivation would be egoistic. As a result, likelihood of benefit would increase if the potential benefactor anticipated having to account for his/her actions to the potential recipient. In contrast, it was also hypothesized that in the presence of emotional attachment arising from a prior relationship, the motivation to benefit would be altruistic. As a result, likelihood of benefit would be unaffected by anticipated accountability. To test these hypotheses, 40 female undergraduates were given a choice between benefiting themselves and benefiting another female undergraduate with whom they either had or had not had a prior relationship. In the absence of any prior relationship, anticipated accountability significantly increased the rate of benefit to the other, suggesting egoistic motivation to gain socially mediated self-benefits. But when a prior relationship existed, benefit to the other was as likely when accountability was not anticipated as when it was, suggesting altruistic motivation to increase the other's welfare. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The value of pulse oximetry during the performance of a forced spirometry maneuver

Given that forced spirometry is the main routine exploration in any laboratory of pulmonary functional assessment, we have analyzed the behaviour of O2 arterial saturation (SaO2) during such maneuver in patients with airflow chronic obstruction (AFCO), in order to verify any potential alterations. We have studied three groups of patients: Group A, control, 17 healthy subjects; group B, 18 patients with AFCO and initial saturation higher than 90%; group C, 15 patients with AFCO and saturation equal to or lower than 90%. Total duration of the maneuver was significantly higher in groups B and C compared with the control group (p < 0.001). In groups A and B, we did not observed any significant reductions in SaO2 with respect to the initial value, although we did observed such differences in group C (p < 0.001). None of the patients presented a subjective clinical disorder, although the absence of both complexity and risk suggest the convenience of including the oximetry as an additional parameter when conducting a forced spirometry in patients with AFCO and respiratory failure.     

Isolated vasculitis of the peripheral nervous system

We present a patient with a subacute asymmetrical sensorimotor polyneuropathy. The pathological features were predominantly loss of nerve fibers, axonal degeneration and healed vasculitis. The epineural vessels were involved, while endoneurial capillaires were preserved. Muscle biopsy revealed neurogenic features with normal blood vessels. After three years, motor and sensory function was almost normal, without any specific treatment. No abnormal findings suggesting collagen diseases or other underlying immunological disorders were obtained by various laboratory tests. In conclusion, the present case strongly suggests that the vasculitis was confined to the peripheral nerves.     

Injection-moulded sepiolite-filled polypropylene: mechanical properties and dimensional stability

Sepiolite, a clay mineral, has been compounded with polypropylene to produce a range of materials with filler contents 10, 25 and 40 wt%. The compounds have been found to process easily by injection-moulding and their mechanical properties have been measured in this form after various ageing treatments including storage at low temperature, and annealing. Although their mechanical properties and shrinkage behaviour are slightly inferior to those of equivalent compounds in which talc is used as a filler, they appear to have better dimensional stability at elevated temperatures and this, coupled with the low cost of sepiolite, indicates that this material has commercial potential.     

Anticipatory planning for research participants with psychotic disorders like schizophrenia.

Current and coincident biomedical advances make this an opportune time to encourage research with individuals who have fluctuating periods of incapacity caused by psychotic disorders like schizophrenia. Effecting research with this heterogeneous population who may have impaired decision-making capacity that diminishes their autonomy, while honoring their liberty and safeguarding their well-being, may be difficult to achieve. Federal regulations and guidelines in regard to research with this population are insufficient and cause additional obstacles. Use of research advance directives that allow for the appointment of a surrogate decision maker, the designation of a research monitor, and delineation of specific safeguards for the research participants also may provide protection for investigators and foster and improve community trust in medical research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk-taking in games of chance and skill: Informational and affective influences on choice behavior.

Three studies to pinpoint the underlying dynamics related to risk-taking in skilled and chance situations are presented. Study 1 is an attempt to demonstrate that cognitive and motivational theories of risk-taking must be combined to account for individual differences in skilled situations. Here, both informational influences as related to uncertainty orientation (R. M. Sorrentino and J. C. Short, 1986) and affective influences as related to achievement-related motives are examined. In support of these notions, this study found that individual differences in uncertainty orientation and achievement-related motives combine to produce the greatest preference or avoidance of moderate risk (as opposed to low or high) in a skilled situation. Studies 2 and 3 show that the effect for uncertainty orientation generalizes to chance situations. Gender differences were also found to combine or interact with these effects. Taken together, these 3 studies help to clarify many issues remaining in the risk-taking area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factor analysis of WISC—R with deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC—R) was factor analyzed on a sample of 368 hard-of-hearing and deaf children (aged 6–16 yrs). Two factors emerged and were labeled Language Comprehension and Visual-Spatial Organization. The factor structure for the hard-of-hearing (n?=?77) and deaf (n?=?291) groups was identical. Deaf children of deaf parents earned significantly higher Verbal IQ and Performance IQ scores than did deaf children of hearing parents. There were no differences in IQ or subtest scores in interpreted vs signed administrations. Implications for assessing the cognitive abilities of hearing-impaired children are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selective glutathione depletion of mitochondria by ethanol sensitizes hepatocytes to tumor necrosis factor

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha induces cell injury by generating oxidative stress from mitochondria. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of ethanol on the sensitization of hepatocytes to TNF-alpha. METHODS: Cultured hepatocytes from ethanol-fed (ethanol hepatocytes) or pair-fed (control hepatocytes) rats were exposed to TNF-alpha, and the extent of oxidative stress, gene expression, and viability were evaluated. RESULTS: Ethanol hepatocytes, which develop a selective deficiency of mitochondrial glutathione (mGSH), showed marked susceptibility to TNF-alpha. The susceptibility to TNF-alpha, manifested as necrosis rather than apoptosis, was accompanied by a progressive increase in hydrogen peroxide that correlated inversely with cell survival. Nuclear factor kappaB activation by TNF-alpha was significantly greater in ethanol hepatocytes than in control hepatocytes, an effect paralleled by the expression of cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant. Similar sensitization of normal hepatocytes to TNF-alpha was obtained by depleting the mitochondrial pool of GSH with 3-hydroxyl-4-pentenoate. Restoration of mGSH by S-adenosyl-L-methionine or by GSH-ethyl ester prevented the increased susceptibility of ethanol hepatocytes to TNF-alpha. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that mGSH controls the fate of hepatocytes in response to TNF-alpha. Its depletion caused by alcohol consumption amplifies the power of TNF-alpha to generate reactive oxygen species, compromising mitochondrial and cellular functions that culminate in cell death.     

Induction of a selective and persistent extravasation of neutrophils into the peritoneal cavity by tryptase mouse mast cell protease 6

Recombinant mouse mast cell protease 6 (mMCP-6) was generated to study the role of this tryptase in inflammatory reactions. Seven to forty-eight hours after the i.p. injection of recombinant mMCP-6 into BALB/c, mast cell-deficient WCB6F1-Sl/Sl(d), C5-deficient, or mMCP-5-null mice, the number of neutrophils in the peritoneal cavity of each animal increased significantly by >50-fold. The failure of the closely related recombinant tryptase mMCP-7 to induce a comparable peritonitis indicates that the substrate specificities of the two tryptases are very different. Unlike most forms of acute inflammation, the mMCP-6-mediated peritonitis was relatively long lasting and neutrophil specific. Mouse MCP-6 did not induce neutrophil chemotaxis directly in an in vitro assay, but did promote chemotaxis of the leukocyte in the presence of endothelial cells. Mouse MCP-6 did not induce cultured human endothelial cells to express TNF-alpha, RANTES, IL-1alpha, or IL-6. However, the tryptase induced endothelial cells to express large amounts of IL-8 continually over a 40-h period. Neither enzymatically active mMCP-7 nor enzymatically inactive pro-mMCP-6 was able to induce endothelial cells to increase their expression of IL-8. Although the mechanism by which mMCP-6 induces neutrophil accumulation in tissues remains to be determined, the finding that mMCP-6 induces cultured human endothelial cells to selectively release large amounts of IL-8 raises the possibility that this tryptase regulates the steady state levels of neutrophil-specific chemokines in vivo during mast cell-mediated inflammatory events.