Prevalence and stability of physical aggression between spouses: A longitudinal analysis.

Community couples (N?=?272) were assessed in a longitudinal study of early marriage. More women than men reported physically aggressing against their partners at premarriage (44% vs. 31%) and 18 months (36% vs. 27%). At 30 months, men and women did not report significantly different rates of aggression (32% vs. 25%). However, using either the self-report or the partner's report, the prevalence of aggression for both men and women were pushing, shoving, and slapping. Conditional probability analyses indicated that the likelihood of physically aggressing at 30 months given that one had engaged in such aggression before marriage and at 18 months after marriage was .72 for women and .59 for men. Furthermore, 25–30% of the recipients of physical aggression at all three assessment periods were seriously maritally discordant at 30 months. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modulated dispersion explains changes in arrhythmia vulnerability during premature stimulation of the heart

BACKGROUND: Previously, we have shown that a premature stimulus can significantly modulate spatial gradients of ventricular repolarization (ie, modulated dispersion), which result from heterogeneous electrophysiological properties between cells. The role modulated dispersion may play in determining electrical instability in the heart is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: To determine if premature stimulus-induced changes in repolarization are a mechanism that governs susceptibility to cardiac arrhythmias, optical action potentials were recorded simultaneously from 128 ventricular sites (1 cm2) in 8 Langendorff-perfused guinea pig hearts. After baseline pacing (S1), a single premature stimulus (S2) was introduced over a range of S1S2 coupling intervals. Arrhythmia vulnerability after each premature stimulus was determined by measurement of a modified ventricular fibrillation threshold (VFT) during the T wave of each S2 beat (ie, S2-VFT). As the S1S2 interval was shortened to an intermediate value, spatial gradients of repolarization and vulnerability to fibrillation decreased by 51+/-9% (mean+/-SEM) and 73+/-45%, respectively, compared with baseline levels. As the S1S2 interval was further shortened, repolarization gradients increased above baseline levels by 54+/-30%, which was paralleled by a corresponding increase (37+/-8%) in vulnerability. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that modulation of repolarization gradients by a single premature stimulus significantly influences vulnerability to ventricular fibrillation. This may represent a novel mechanism for the formation of arrhythmogenic substrates during premature stimulation of the heart.     

Uveitis and central nervous system vasculitis

The purpose of this double-blind study was to investigate the influence of adding a quercetin-containing supplement to the diet on plasma quercetin status, serum/platelet fatty acid levels and risk factors for heart disease. Healthy men and women with cholesterol levels of 4.0-7.2 mmol/L, consumed four capsules daily of either a quercetin-containing supplement (1.0 g quercetin/d) or rice flour placebo for 28 d. Quercetin intakes were approximately 50-fold greater than the dietary intakes associated with lower coronary heart disease mortality on the basis of epidemiologic studies. Subjects consuming quercetin-containing capsules had plasma quercetin concentrations approximately 23-fold higher than those of subjects consuming the control capsules. Quercetin supplementation did not modify serum total, LDL or HDL cholesterol or triglyceride levels. There were also no alterations of other cardiovascular disease or thrombogenic risk factors, including platelet aggregation, platelet thromboxane B2 production, blood pressure or resting heart rate. Furthermore, there was no effect on the levels of (n-6) or (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids in serum or platelet phospholipids. In conclusion, supplementation with quercetin-containing capsules markedly enhanced the plasma quercetin concentration but had no effect on other cardiovascular or thrombogenic risk factors.     

Empirical study of traffic trunking in Linux‐based MPLS test‐bed

The thrust of this study is to construct an MPLS test‐bed using open hardware and software and later use this test‐bed for experimenting with various traffic engineering options available with MPLS. We have constructed a test‐bed using Pentium PCs and Linux and used this test‐bed to try a well‐known MPLS traffic engineering feature of separating flows into multiple trunks. The purpose of this separation is to experimentally assess the quality of service benefits we can expect from MPLS networks. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley &Sons, Ltd.     

Changing activation sequence in the embryonic chick heart. Implications for the development of the His-Purkinje system

Viruses that establish persistent infections in their host, such as herpesviruses, adenoviruses or HIV, express proteins designed to pre-empt or evade recognition and elimination by MHC class I restricted CD8+ T lymphocytes. Notable discoveries during the annual period of review have demonstrated that, in principle, each single step within the MHC class I pathway of antigen processing and presentation is fair game for manipulation by viral functions. The viral factors that are natural inhibitors of this pathway have been instrumental for the elucidation of the distinct molecular mechanisms that are exploited by viruses. The viral stealth strategies that downregulate MHC class I protein surface expression may lead, however, to a higher susceptibility of virus-infected cells to natural killer cell activity. Strikingly, there is evidence that some viruses counteract increased natural killer cell recognition by expressing viral MHC class I homologues that function as surrogate inhibitors of natural killer cell activity.     

MAD analysis of FHIT, a putative human tumor suppressor from the HIT protein family

BACKGROUND: The fragile histidine triad (FHIT) protein is a member of the large and ubiquitous histidine triad (HIT) family of proteins. It is expressed from a gene located at a fragile site on human chromosome 3, which is commonly disrupted in association with certain cancers. On the basis of the genetic evidence, it has been postulated that the FHIT protein may function as a tumor suppressor, implying a role for the FHIT protein in carcinogenesis. The FHIT protein has dinucleoside polyphosphate hydrolase activity in vitro, thus suggesting that its role in vivo may involve the hydrolysis of a phosphoanhydride bond. The structural analysis of FHIT will identify critical residues involved in substrate binding and catalysis, and will provide insights into the in vivo function of HIT proteins. RESULTS: The three-dimensional crystal structures of free and nucleoside complexed FHIT have been determined from multiwavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD) data, and they represent some of the first successful structures to be measured with undulator radiation at the Advanced Photon Source. The structures of FHIT reveal that this protein exists as an intimate homodimer, which is based on a core structure observed previously in another human HIT homolog, protein kinase C interacting protein (PKCI), but has distinctive elaborations at both the N and C termini. Conserved residues within the HIT family, which are involved in the interactions of the proteins with nucleoside and phosphate groups, appear to be relevant for the catalytic activity of this protein. CONCLUSIONS: The structure of FHIT, a divergent HIT protein family member, in complex with a nucleotide analog suggests a metal-independent catalytic mechanism for the HIT family of proteins. A structural comparison of FHIT with PKCI and galactose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase (GaIT) reveals additional implications for the structural and functional evolution of the ubiquitous HIT family of proteins.     

Predischarge arrhythmia induction testing of implantable defibrillators may be unnecessary in selected cases

Complete postoperative evaluation of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) before discharge, including arrhythmia induction, has been the standard since their introduction. Whereas the original ICDs provided little telemetered information and used separate pace-sense and defibrillation leads, modern, third-generation devices provide pace-sense function information in addition to other data and are used in conjunction with integrated transvenous endocardial leads that combine pace-sense and defibrillation function. Changes in lead position, which can potentially result in either an inability to detect fibrillation or to terminate it, should be mirrored by changes in resting pace-sense function. Thus, for newer ICDs implanted with integrated endocardial lead systems, it is possible that in at least some cases predischarge arrhythmia inductions can be avoided. Two hundred patients receiving third-generation ICDs in conjunction with integrated transvenous leads were evaluated before discharge. Defibrillation detection or termination problems were seen in 8. Declines in resting R-wave amplitude and pacing impedance were significantly associated with such complications (-7 +/- 5 vs -0.3 +/- 2.3 mV [p <0.0001] and -158 +/- 138 vs -93 +/- 76 omega [p <0.05], for those with vs without complications, respectively), as were gross right ventricular lead migrations on chest x-ray. No patient with a defibrillation complication had an R-wave change of <3 mV. However, 13% of patients without complications had R-wave changes of >3 mV. It is concluded that a pace-sense evaluation of ICDs may be a satisfactory screen to determine those who need to go on to complete testing with arrhythmia induction in selected cases.     

Long-term experience with clonazepam in patients with a primary diagnosis of panic disorder

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of the relief of obstruction on the ultimate function of the affected renal unit in urinary tuberculosis, and to identify predictors of functional recoverability. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Of a total of 82 patients with urinary tuberculosis presenting over 7 years, 38 with evidence of upper tract obstruction were analysed. All patients were assessed with pre-operative excretory urography, urinary mycobacterial cultures and serum chemistry. Patients with subnormally functioning kidneys were assessed with baseline renal scans. Preliminary intervention in the form of JJ stenting or percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) was carried out in patients with reasonable renal function. Function was reassessed after 4 weeks to detect evidence of improvement and factors which could affect the outcome were determined. RESULTS: Thirty-eight patients had documented upper tract obstruction, of whom six had bilateral obstruction (total of 44 renal units). Ten renal units were not functioning at presentation, with a mean (SD) glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 3.0 (5.73) mL/min, and no preliminary intervention was performed. In the remaining 34, preliminary intervention was carried out before definitive surgery (JJ stenting in 14, PCN in 15 and PCN followed by antegrade JJ stenting in five); 21 of these renal units were salvaged but 13 were lost despite overcoming the obstruction. Three of the 13 units deteriorated from having acceptable pre-treatment GFRs to becoming non-functional. Good renal cortical thickness, a low grade of renal involvement (Semb 1 or 2), the presence of more distal disease in the form of ureteric stricture and a GFR of > 15 mL/min were good predictors of renal recovery after diversion. CONCLUSIONS: The loss of some renal units seems inevitable in patients with urinary tuberculosis, despite advances in chemotherapy. Having pre-operative predictors of renal recovery may ensure optimal patient selection, thereby reducing the number of procedures and economic burden on the patient who does not require intervention.     

Airfield pavement construction using basalt aggregate

75,000 m³ oc concrete were required for the Fast Exit Taxiway and Apron works for development of Wideawake airfield on Ascension Island. Locally available construction materials were used wherever possible because of the remote location. The pavement contractor obtained some 250,000 tonnes of concrete aggregate by quarrying basalt from aa lava flows associated with highly vesicular basalt scoria ejected during Strombolian-type eruptions. The methods used for ground investigation, material assessment and development include the innovative use of geostatistical techniques for resource evaluation.     

Pretreatment with intraventricular aurintricarboxylic acid decreases infarct size by inhibiting apoptosis following transient global ischemia in gerbils

The goal of this study was to determine whether aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA), an endonuclease inhibitor known to inhibit apoptosis, could ameliorate cell damage in a gerbil model of transient ischemia. Transient ischemia was induced in gerbils by bilateral carotid artery occlusion for a period of 5 minutes. Four micrograms of ATA was administered intraventricularly 1 hour before ischemia, and the brains were assessed histologically 1 week later to quantitate cell loss in the vulnerable CA-1 subsector of the hippocampus. In a separate set of experiments, 4 microg of ATA was administered intraventricularly 1 hour before ischemia and the brains were assessed for evidence of DNA fragmentation by the TUNEL method. There was only a 16% cell loss compared with nonischemic controls in animals pretreated with ATA that was significantly less (p < 0.05) than the 48% cell loss in animals pretreated with saline alone. TUNEL-positive cells were first evident at 3 days and were still present at 7 days subsequent to ischemia. Maximal staining occurred at 4 days. Pretreatment with ATA virtually eliminated TUNEL staining at 4 days. These results support the hypothesis that the delayed cell death secondary to transient ischemia is, in part, apoptotic. Furthermore, ATA afforded significant neuronal protection and prevented DNA fragmentation.