Relation of agency and communion to well-being: Evidence and potential explanations.

There are pervasive sex differences in psychological and physical well-being, many of which can be linked to the differential socialization of men and women. Numerous studies have linked psychological masculinity and femininity to well-being. In the present article, this literature is explained by focusing on the specific personality traits captured by conventional measures of masculinity and femininity: agency (focus on self and forming separations) and communion (focus on others and forming connections), respectively. Both agency and communion are required for optimal well-being (D. Bakan, 1966); when one exists in the absence of the other (unmitigated communion or unmitigated agency), however, negative health outcomes occur. Research that is consistent with this idea is presented, and the processes by which unmitigated agency and unmitigated communion affect well-being are explored. These processes involve control, social support, and health behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intravitreal large-cell lymphoma

Large-cell (non-Hodgkin's) lymphoma may occur in the eye as a cellular infiltrate in the vitreous, uveal tract (choroid), retina, or optic nerve. Lymphomatous involvement may be limited to the eye but also is frequently associated with lesions of the central nervous system. Ocular involvement may precede involvement of the central nervous system by months or, in some cases, years. Ocular large-cell lymphoma is bilateral in approximately 80% of cases but often is asymmetric. The mean age of patients with ocular large-cell lymphoma is 60 years, and women are affected almost twice as often as men. Intravitreal large-cell lymphoma may manifest as an infiltrate of large glassy-gray cells or clusters of cells, and it may mimic uveitis or other inflammatory and infectious conditions of the eye. The diagnosis is based on cytologic and immunocytochemical studies of a vitreous biopsy specimen obtained by aspiration or by vitrectomy through the pars plana. Advances in irradiation of the eyes and the central nervous system, supplemented with corticosteroids and intrathecally and intravenously administered chemotherapeutic agents, have resulted in improvement of the dismal prognosis for patients with large-cell lymphoma.     

Gel-entrapment of perfluorocarbons: a fluorine-19 NMR spectroscopic method for monitoring oxygen concentration in cell perfusion systems

Oxygenation is a major determinant of the physiological state of cultured cells. 19F NMR can be used to determine the oxygen concentration available to cells immobilized in a gel matrix by measuring the relaxation rate (1/T1) of perfluorocarbons (PFC) incorporated into the gel matrix. In calcium alginate gel beads without cells the relaxation rate (1/T1) of the trifluoromethyl group of perfluorotripropylamine (FTPA) varies linearly with oxygen concentration, with a slope of 1.26 +/- 0.15 x 10(-3) s-1 microM-1 and an intercept of 0.50 +/- 0.04 s-1. During perfusion with medium equilibrated with 95%/5% O2/CO2, changes in PFC T1s indicate that the average oxygen concentration was reduced from 894 +/- 102 microM in the absence of cells to 476 +/- 65 microM and 475 +/- 50 microM in the presence of 0.7 x 10(8) EMT6/Ro and RIF-1 murine tumor cells per milliliter of gel, respectively. The presence of 0.2 microliters of FTPA/ml of gel had no effect on the energy status of the cells as indicated by 31P NMR spectra. To calculate oxygen gradients within the beads from the average PFC T1 of the sample, a mathematical model was used assuming that oxygen is the limiting nutrient for cell metabolism and that the cellular oxygen consumption rate is independent of oxygen concentration. Data for EMT6/Ro cells were fit using experimentally determined perfusion parameters together with literature values for cell volume and oxygen consumption rate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Congenital pulmonary lymphangiectasis with chylothorax: a heterogeneous lymphatic vessel abnormality

We describe the generation of a new antipeptide antibody that binds to the centromeric region of human mitotic chromosomes. This antibody was raised against a synthetic peptide corresponding to the 481-493 amino acid sequence of the human CENP-B autoantigen. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed that this anti-CENP-B serum showed an identical pattern to the human CREST anticentromere autoantibody in both mitotic cells and interphase nuclei. Immunoblotting showed that this antibody reacts with the recombinant human CENP-B autoantigen, indicating that it is directed to the 80-kDa centromere polypeptide. We have used this serum to determine, by indirect immunofluorescence, whether CENP-B is conserved in different mammalian species. Surprisingly, the human antipeptide antibody does not react with the centromeric proteins of cultured mouse, hamster, or Indian muntjac cells. Because the CENP-B gene has been cloned in human and mouse, our results suggest that the CENP-B epitope used as an immunogen in this study is not ubiquitous in mammalian cells, and that we have most probably established a monospecific antibody to the human centromere.     

Hepatotoxicity of antiviral agents

Because most therapeutic agents used for viral infections are relatively new, experience with their adverse effects is still evolving. Hepatic toxicity has not been among the most important concerns with this class of drugs so far. Liver damage has been increasingly noted with accumulating experience, especially with antiretroviral drugs and those used to treat chronic hepatitis (e.g., fialuridine), but it is often difficult to distinguish between effects of therapy and of the underlying disease. It is important for clinicians to be aware of the possibility of hepatotoxicity in such situations, and further reporting of adverse experiences should contribute to more definitive evaluation of the potential influence of antivirals on liver function.     

One-, two-, and three-photon pumped lasing in a novel liquid dye salt system

We report the observation of one-, two-, and three-photon pumped lasing in the same medium, a novel liquid dye salt system when excited by pulsed 0.532-, 1.06-, and /spl sim/1.49-/spl mu/m coherent radiation pulses, respectively. Since the gain medium is a liquid and not a solution, it contains a significantly higher effective dye concentration and, therefore, is highly suitable for multiphoton pumped lasing and optical power limiting applications. The lasing spectra, temporal waveforms, near- and far-field intensity distributions, and output/input efficiency were measured under the conditions of one-, two-, and three-photon pump configurations.