Partially glucose-capped oligosaccharides are found on the hemoglobins of the deep-sea tube worm Riftia pachyptila

We report here the structural determination of N-linked oligosaccharides found on extracellular hemoglobins of the hydrothermal vent tube worm Riftia pachyptila. Structures were elucidated by a combination of electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry, normal-phase high performance liquid chromatography, and exoglycosidase digestion. The sugar chains were found to consist mainly of high-mannose-type glycans with some structures partially capped by one or two terminal glucose residues. The present study represents the first report of the occurrence of glucose capping of N-linked carbohydrates in a secreted glycoprotein of a metazoan. Previously, glucose capping has only been described for a membrane-bound surface glycoprotein from the unicellular parasite Leishmania mexicana amazonensis.     

Spatial behavior in gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus).

Investigated whether adult gerbils could use an allocentric frame of reference to efficiently solve a spatial memory task. 38 male Ss were allowed to explore an arena containing an object. The external reference frame was reduced to a single visual landmark. After habituation, Ss entered the arena from a new direction. A 2nd object, identical to the 1st object, was placed symmetrically with regard to the landmark. The 2nd object was explored more than the 1st object, a result showing that the 2nd object was differentiated on the basis of location. This result suggests that, during the course of exploration, Ss had learned about the spatial features of the experimental situation. It is suggested that Ss' final discrimination performance (preference for the novel stimulus location) reflected an allocentric rather than egocentric frame of reference. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infants' understanding of visible displacements.

Two studies examined 54 9-mo-old and 54 12-mo-old infants' understanding of visible displacements and whether infants understand that the object has been deleted from its initial hiding place as part of its displacement to a new location. Displacement problems were compared with 2-object problems on which separate objects were hidden at the 1st and 2nd hiding place so that the initial object was not deleted from the 1st displacement location. Nondisplacement problems, on which the object remained at the 1st hiding place while the experimenter moved her visibly empty hand to the 2nd place, were also included in the 1-object condition. Although Exp I showed equivocal results, Exp II provided clear evidence that even 9-mo-olds have at least a limited sensitivity to the deletion component of displacements. In that experiment, the 9-mo-olds searched significantly more at the 2nd than at the 1st hiding place on displacement problems, and the distribution of their searches across the 2 visited locations on those problems was significantly different than on 2-object problems. Although their performance was less consistent than that of 12-mo-olds, there was no evidence that they suffered from any systematic misunderstanding that separated them from the older Ss. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of gender and marital status with symptomatology in psychotic patients.

Examined the relationship of gender and marital status with ratings of symptoms in 882 psychiatric patients (521 males and 361 females) diagnosed as schizophrenic on the DSM-II. Analysis of total symptom scores revealed an interactive effect of gender and marital status; married women (mean age 37.02 yrs) had the highest total symptom scores, whereas married men (mean age 34.88 yrs) had the lowest. Factor analysis of the symptom ratings yielded 9 symptom factors: Ideational Symptoms, Anhedonia, Cognitive Disorientation, Suicidal Tendencies, Vegetative Symptoms, Hostility, Anxiety, Narcotic Abuse, and Alcohol Abuse. Factor scores were then computed to investigate possible gender and marital status differences in symptom pattern. Different profiles of symptoms as a function of gender were found. Females scored higher on the factors defined by affective symptoms, namely, Anhedonia, Suicidal Tendencies, and Vegetative Symptoms. They also scored higher on Cognitive Disorientation. The only factor on which males scored higher than females was Alcohol Abuse. Results are discussed in light of selection and protection theories of the relationship between marital status and mental health. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antibody responses to tetanus toxoid and Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccines following autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT)

OBJECTIVE: Although there are many anecdotal reports that psychological intervention is effective in enhancing adjustment to spinal cord injury (SCI), there are little data to support this assertion. To date, reports of few longitudinal-based controlled trials that assessed psychological outcomes for SCI persons have been published. This study was conducted to determine long-term efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy during rehabilitation. DESIGN: The study employed a nonrandomized controlled trial, and measures were taken on three occasions: before, immediately after, and 12 months after treatment. SETTING, OUTCOME MEASURES, AND INTERVENTION: Anxiety, depressive mood, and self-esteem were assessed in 28 SCI persons consecutively selected on admission to hospital, who participated in specialized group cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) during rehabilitation. CONTROLS: The intervention group's responses on the measures were compared with a control group of 41 SCI persons who only received traditional rehabilitation services during their hospitalization. RESULTS: There were no overall group differences on anxiety, depressive mood, and self-esteem, although there was a trend for the treatment group to have greater levels of improvement in depression scores across time in comparison to the control group. However, those in the treatment group who reported high levels of depressive mood before the CBT treatment were significantly less depressed 1 year after injury, compared to similar persons in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: While it appears not everyone who experiences SCI needs CBT, at least in the hospital phase of their rehabilitation, those who report high levels of depressive mood benefited greatly from CBT.     

La portée de l'effet Mozart. Succés souvenirs, fausses notes et reprises.

Rauscher, Shaw and Ky (1993) observed that listening to Mozart's Sonata in D major for Two Pianos K448 results in short-term enhancement of spatial reasoning ability. Popularized as the Mozart Effect, this result gave rise to a scientific, social, and commercial craze. The present paper evaluates the validity of the Mozart Effect through the analysis of 26 studies pertaining to this question. Conflicting results emerged but the majority of studies weakens the validity of the Mozart Effect. Theoretical implications for cognitive neuropsychology are discussed. Social and commercial issues are also addressed from an ethical point of view. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

University environment as a mediator of Latino ethnic identity and persistence attitudes.

The authors examined whether the perception of the university environment mediated the relationship between ethnic identity and persistence attitudes of Latino college students. Participants were 175 Latino college students who attended a primarily White university. The results supported the hypothesized mediating role of the university environment. Higher Latino ethnic identity was associated with perceiving a more negative university environment and feeling less committed to finishing college. In turn, perception of a negative college environment was associated with feeling less committed to finishing college. When perception of the university environment was removed, no significant relationship was found between ethnic identity and persistence attitudes, indicating that it is the perceived context that influences Latino college students' persistence attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of pregnancy on maternal oxygen saturation values: use of reflectance pulse oximetry during pregnancy

Our objective was to evaluate the usefulness of pulse oximetry monitoring in a large population of pregnant patients. We designed our study to measure pulse oximetry saturation in a cross section of 952 obstetric inpatients and outpatients. A group of 366 patients identified as normal were compared with abnormal subgroups. A subgroup of 64 patients with saturation measurements less than 96% were further evaluated. Our results indicated that oxygen saturation values did not change appreciably during the course of pregnancy in normal patients. Hypoxemia (saturation measurement less than 96%) was associated with smoking, and hypoxemia with preterm labor occurred more frequently in patients who smoked. Obesity and magnesium sulfate use appeared to be synergistic in the presence of hypoxemia. We concluded that the routine use of pulse oximetry during pregnancy may not be justified. Smoking, obesity, and magnesium sulfate use have some effect on oximetry in pregnant patients.     

Time perception and time processing as an aspect of the therapeutic process.

Examines the subtle and paradoxical issues surrounding clients' perceptions and processing of time. This paper illustrates that, though time perception and time processing are uniquely individual tasks with widespread variation, it is the diversity of these processes that enriches therapy and can provide both client and therapist with a deeper understanding of adaptability and coping. Five guidelines and accompanying techniques are identified that offer specific methods of addressing and altering temporal processing related to distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Blind source separation for ambulatory sleep recording.

This paper deals with the conception of a new system for sleep staging in ambulatory conditions. Sleep recording is performed by means of five electrodes: two temporal, two frontal and a reference. This configuration enables to avoid the chin area to enhance the quality of the muscular signal and the hair region for patient convenience. The electroencephalopgram (EEG), eletromyogram (EMG), and electrooculogram (EOG) signals are separated using the Independent Component Analysis approach. The system is compared to a standard sleep analysis system using polysomnographic recordings of 14 patients. The overall concordance of 67.2% is achieved between the two systems. Based on the validation results and the computational efficiency we recommend the clinical use of the proposed system in a commercial sleep analysis platform.