Oxytocin and vasopressin secretion in response to stimuli producing learned taste aversions in rats.

In 5 experiments, administration of lithium chloride, copper sulfate, and apomorphine to male Sprague-Dawley rats each stimulated the secretion of oxytocin (OT) and, to a much lesser degree, arginine vasopressin. These agents are assumed to cause visceral illness in rats because of their effectiveness in promoting the acquisition of learned taste aversions (LTAs). CuSO?, but not LiCl, had a greater effect on plasma OT levels when administered intraperitoneally rather than intravenously. Results suggest that LiCl stimulates OT secretion by central chemoreceptor activation, whereas CuSO? acts predominantly by local peritoneal irritation. A causal role for circulating OT in the acquisition of LTAs was not found. Peripheral levels of OT may represent a quantifiable marker of visceral illness in rats and therefore might be useful in the interpretation of behavioral studies in which CTAs are produced, provided that other stimuli of neurohypophyseal secretion are absent. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of pubococcygeal exercise on coital orgasm in women.

16 20–41 yr old female volunteers participated in a study comparing the effects of Kegel exercises to an attention placebo and a waiting-list control condition. All Ss had a low (     

Effects of client aphasia on client evaluation and counselor behavior.

Examined whether differences exist in counselor behaviors toward and evaluation of an aphasic client in comparison to a nonaphasic client and whether such differences are related to counselor training. 40 counseling students were divided into 2 groups of 20, based on level of counselor training. 10 Ss in each group counseled individually with an aphasic-speaking client for 10 min, and the remaining 10 in each group counseled with the same client as a nonaphasic speaker. Counselor behaviors and evaluations of the confederate client were compared. Results demonstrate that irrespective of training, client aphasic speech significantly affected counselor behavior and evaluation of the client. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory connections between thematically similar episodes.

Investigated the use of cross-episode connections (i.e., when 2 episodes with a shared theme are connected through a thematic structure) in comprehension and memory in 6 experiments with 106 undergraduates. Results from the use of a priming technique in Exps I and II indicate that verification time for a test sentence from 1 story was speeded by an immediately preceding test sentence from a thematically similar story but only when Ss were given instructions to rate the similarities of the stories. In Exp III–VI, a single test sentence was presented immediately after a story was read, with timing controlled by presenting the story one word at a time. Response time for a test sentence from a previously read story was facilitated if the immediately preceding story was thematically similar but only if the previously read story was extensively prestudied. It is concluded that during reading of an episode, thematic information may be encoded to lead to activation of similar episodes and formation of connections in memory between episodes, but such encoding is not automatic and depends on Ss' strategies and task difficulty. Sample stories are appended. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Delay discounting predicts postpartum relapse to cigarette smoking among pregnant women.

Delay discounting (DD), a measure of impulsivity, describes the rate at which rewards lose value as the delay to their receipt increases. Greater discounting has been associated with cigarette smoking and various other types of drug abuse in recent research. The present study examined whether DD predicts treatment outcome among cigarette smokers. More specifically, the authors examined whether baseline discounting for hypothetical monetary rewards predicted smoking status at 24 weeks postpartum among women who discontinued smoking during pregnancy. Participants were 48 pregnant women (10.5 = 4.1 weeks gestational age at study entry) who participated in a clinical trial examining the use of incentives to prevent postpartum relapse. Several sociodemographic characteristics (being younger, being less educated, and reporting a history of depression) assessed at study entry were associated with increased baseline DD, but in multivariate analyses only DD predicted smoking status at 24 weeks postpartum. Greater baseline DD was a significant predictor of smoking status at 24 weeks postpartum. DD was reassessed periodically throughout the study and did not significantly change over time among those who eventually resumed smoking or those who sustained abstinence. The results extend the association of DD with risk for substance abuse to pregnant and recently postpartum cigarette smokers and demonstrate a significant relationship between DD and treatment outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

除了平板电视,还有很多……

显而易见,在过去的几个假日消费旺季中,平板电视类产品已经出尽了风头.然而,今年许多销售经理们预言不在少数的新兴产品类型将会迎来它们自己的销售旺季.     

Two New S-Phase-Specific Genes from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Two new yeast genes, ASF1 (Anti-Silencing Function) and ASF2, as well as a C-terminal fragment of SIR3, were identified as genes that derepressed the silent mating type loci when overexpressed. ASF2 overexpression caused a greater derepression than did ASF1. ASF1 overexpression also weakened repression of genes near telomeres, but, interestingly, ASF2 had no effect on telomeric silencing. Sequences of these two genes revealed open reading frames of 279 and 525 amino acids for ASF1 and ASF2, respectively. The ASF1 protein was evolutionarily conserved. MCB motifs, sequences commonly present upstream of genes transcribed specifically in S phase, were found in front of both genes, and, indeed, both genes were transcribed specifically in the S phase of the cell cycle. While an asf2 mutant was viable and had no obvious phenotypes, an asf1 mutant grew poorly. Neither mutant exhibited derepression of the silent mating type loci. The asf1 mutant was sensitive to methyl methane sulfonate, slightly UV-sensitive and somewhat deficient in minichromosome maintenance. It also lowered the restrictive temperature of a cdc13^ts mutant. These phenotypes suggested a role for ASF1 in DNA repair and chromosome maintenance. The GenBank accession numbers for the ASF1 and ASF2 sequences are L07593 and L07649, respectively. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biallelic Variants in PYROXD2 Cause a Severe Infantile Metabolic Disorder Affecting Mitochondrial Function

Pyridine Nucleotide-Disulfide Oxidoreductase Domain 2 (PYROXD2; previously called YueF) is a mitochondrial inner membrane/matrix-residing protein and is reported to regulate mitochondrial function. The clinical importance of PYROXD2 has been unclear, and little is known of the protein’s precise biological function. In the present paper, we report biallelic variants in PYROXD2 identified by genome sequencing in a patient with suspected mitochondrial disease. The child presented with acute neurological deterioration, unresponsive episodes, and extreme metabolic acidosis, and received rapid genomic testing. He died shortly after. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain imaging showed changes resembling Leigh syndrome, one of the more common childhood mitochondrial neurological diseases. Functional studies in patient fibroblasts showed a heightened sensitivity to mitochondrial metabolic stress and increased mitochondrial superoxide levels. Quantitative proteomic analysis demonstrated decreased levels of subunits of the mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I, and both the small and large subunits of the mitochondrial ribosome, suggesting a mitoribosomal defect. Our findings support the critical role of PYROXD2 in human cells, and suggest that the biallelic PYROXD2 variants are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, and can plausibly explain the child’s clinical presentation.     

Magnesium Powder Metallurgy: Process and Materials Opportunities

The major efforts in magnesium alloy development for automotive applications have concentrated on creep resistant alloys produced by permanent mould and high-pressure die casting routes. While large components, such as crankcases, will never be produced by powder metallurgy, there are smaller components in and around the powertrain which could be fabricated from powder precursors. This article will explore the potential of some of the more recent powder compaction developments, and discuss the alloy development strategies that emerge for magnesium-based components as a consequence of these process developments. In particular, the viability of direct powder extrusion of semi-finished product, using conventional extrusion or equal channel angular processing, combined with T6 heat treatments, will be considered. This article was presented at Materials Science & Technology 2007, Automotive and Ground Vehicles symposium held September 16-20, 2007, in Detroit, MI.