Personal names and the attentional blink: a visual "cocktail party" effect

Four experiments were carried out to investigate an early- versus late-selection explanation for the attentional blink (AB). In both Experiments 1 and 2, 3 groups of participants were required to identify a noun (Experiment 1) or a name (Experiment 2) target (experimental conditions) and then to identify the presence or absence of a 2nd target (probe), which was their own name, another name, or a specified noun from among a noun distractor stream (Experiment 1) or a name distractor stream (Experiment 2). The conclusions drawn are that individuals do not experience an AB for their own names but do for either other names or nouns. In Experiments 3 and 4, either the participant's own name or another name was presented, as the target and as the item that immediately followed the target, respectively. An AB effect was revealed in both experimental conditions. The results of these experiments are interpreted as support for a late-selection interference account of the AB.     

Growing or just getting along? Technical and adaptive competence in coping among adolescents

This study examined coping among African American adolescents with learning disabilities. Ninety-seven African American adolescents and their mother or primary caregiver participated in the study. The study centered on a new conceptual distinction between technical competence in coping and adaptive competence in coping. Technical competence referred to short-term, reactive attempts at coping based on individuals' abilities to find techniques for reducing their feelings of distress. Adaptive competence referred to longer-term, developmental processes of adaptive change that resulted in more global benefits for the individual. Past literature was reassessed on the basis of this conceptual distinction, and a new model of technical and adaptive competence in coping was proposed based on developmental theory. Perceptions of coping efficacy and the incidence of behavioral problems were regressed on measures of technical and adaptive competence in coping. Results were explored first as a general test of the model on the total sample, and second as a comparative analysis between gender subsamples. Total sample findings were consistent with hypothesized results. Technical competence was a better predictor of feelings of efficacy and adaptive competence was a better predictor of behavioral problems. Gender subsample differences were significant and supported a picture of gender-typed approaches to coping.     

A snapshot of Australian nursing scholarship 1993-1994

The basedowian exophthalmy is a self-immune originating affection, in which the antigen remains still unknown. It may appear besides the Basedow disease, evoluating in a total independent manner. The clinical diagnosis is done on the basis of small ocular characteristic signs: exopthalmy, oculomotor deficit, optical neuropathy, corneo-conjunctival alterations, being of course supplemented with the complementary endocrinological and immunological explorations. The endocrine exophthalmy represents a serious complication because of the visual risks it implies, and afterwards because of the implied esthetical prejudice. A spontaneous amelioration is possible, but the treatment often proves to be necessary. It will be medical, local and general, and also orbitar radiotherapy and surgical treatment.     

Technical note: a blind test of mandibular ramus flexure as a morphologic indicator of sexual dimorphism in the human skeleton

Following axotomy most medial septal neurons in the adult rat brain have dramatically reduced numbers of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) positive neurons. Since leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) promotes cholinergic expression in several neuronal populations, the aim of this study was to determine if LIF would continue to support cholinergic expression in axotomized medial septal neurons. Mini-osmotic pumps were used to infuse saline or LIF into the lateral cerebral ventricle. Counts of ChAT and low-affinity nerve growth factor (p75NGFR) immunostained neurons indicated that LIF-treated animals retained ChAT expression in > 90% of axotomized neurons whereas in saline-infused animals this was < 30%. Also, LIF was equally effective in maintaining p75NGFR expression levels in axotomized medial septal neurons.     

Sialomucin complex, a heterodimeric glycoprotein complex. Expression as a soluble, secretable form in lactating mammary gland and colon

Ascites 13762 rat mammary adenocarcinoma cells express abundantly on their cell surfaces a heterodimeric glycoprotein complex composed of a sialomucin ascites sialoglycoprotein (ASGP)-1 and a transmembrane subunit ASGP-2. The latter, which contains two epidermal growth factor-like domains, binds the receptor tyrosine kinase p185(neu), suggesting that the complex is bifunctional as well as heterodimeric. Immunoblot analyses using monoclonal antibodies prepared against the complex demonstrate high levels of expression in rat lactating mammary gland and colon. Immunolocalization studies with anti-ASGP-2 indicate that ASGP-2 is present in these two tissues in the apical regions of secretory epithelial cells. Both mammary gland and colon contain a soluble, secretable form of ASGP-2, which is not found in the ascites cells; milk and mammary gland also have the membrane form. Immunoblot analyses using a COOH-terminal-specific polyclonal antibody indicate that the soluble form of ASGP-2 is missing its COOH-terminal domains. Both the soluble and membrane forms of ASGP-2 are similar to the membrane-associated form from the 13762 adenocarcinoma with respect to Mr, antigenicity, and association with ASGP-1. The presence of ASGP-1 in milk suggests that it is a candidate for the uncharacterized high Mr milk mucin, MUCX. ASGP-2 expression is up-regulated in mammary gland during pregnancy, because it is undetectable in virgin and early pregnant rats but abundant in the gland from late pregnant and lactating animals. However, compared with the lactating mammary gland, the 13762 ascites cells overexpress ASGP-2 by more than 100-fold, which may contribute to their malignancy. These combined results indicate that sialomucin complex is a unique secreted product in the mammary gland and colon, whose behavior is different from that in the mammary ascites tumors, and which may play important roles in mammary and intestinal physiology.     

Utilization of modified surfactant-associated protein B for delivery of DNA to airway cells in culture

Pulmonary surfactant lines the airway epithelium and creates a potential barrier to successful transfection of the epithelium in vivo. Based on the functional properties of pulmonary surfactant protein B (SP-B) and the fact that this protein is neither toxic nor immunogenic in the airway, we hypothesized that SP-B could be modified to deliver DNA to airway cells. We have modified native bovine SP-B by the covalent linkage of poly(lysine) (average molecular mass of 3.3 or 10 kDa) to the N terminus of SP-B and formed complexes between a test plasmid and the modified SP-B. Transfection efficiency was determined by transfection of pulmonary adenocarcinoma cells (H441) in culture with the test plasmid pCPA-RSV followed by measurement of activity of the reporter gene encoding chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT). Transfections were performed with DNA.protein complexes using poly(lysine)10kDa-SP-B ([Lys]10kDa-SP-B) or poly(lysine)3.3kDa-SP-B ([Lys]3.3kDa-SP-B), and results were compared with transfections using unmodified poly(lysine).DNA, unmodified SP-B.DNA, or DNA only. For [Lys]10kDa-SP-B.pCPA-RSV preparations, CAT activity was readily detectable above the background of [Lys]3.3kDa-SP-B or unmodified SP-B. The SP-B-poly(lysine) conjugates were effective over a broad range of protein-to-DNA molar ratios, although they were optimal at approximately 500:1-1000:1. Transfection efficiency varied with the tested cell line but was not specific to airway cells. Addition of replication-defective adenovirus to the [Lys]10kDa-SP-B.pCPA-RSV complex enhanced CAT activity about 30-fold with respect to that produced by the [Lys]10kDa-SP-B.pCPA-RSV complex alone. This increase suggests routing of the adenoviral.[Lys]10kDa-SP-B.pCPA-RSV complex through an endosomal pathway. Effects of covalent modification on the secondary structure of SP-B were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR). Results of FTIR indicated that the conformation of [Lys]10kDa-SP-B was comprised primarily of alpha-helical structure compared with a predominantly aggregated structure of unmodified poly(lysine). We conclude that poly(lysine) conjugates of SP-B effectively deliver DNA in vitro and may have utility as DNA delivery vehicles to the airway in vivo.     

Emerald: A general-purpose programming language

Emerald is a general-purpose language with aspects of traditional object-oriented languages, such as Smalltalk, and abstract data type languages, such as Modula-2 and Ada. It is strongly typed with a non-traditional object model and type system that emphasize abstract types, allow separation of typing and implementation, and provide the flexibility of polymorphism and subtyping with compile-time checking. This paper describes the Emerald language and its programming methodology. We give examples that demonstrate Emerald's features, and compare and contrast the Emerald approach to programming with the approaches used in other similar languages.     

Hereditary lymphedema: evidence for linkage and genetic heterogeneity

Hereditary or primary lymphedema is a developmental disorder of the lymphatic system which leads to a disabling and disfiguring swelling of the extremities. Hereditary lymphedema generally shows an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance with reduced penetrance, variable expression and variable age at onset. Three multigeneration families demonstrating the phenotype of hereditary lymphedema segregating as an autosomal dominant trait with incomplete penetrance were genotyped for 366 autosomal markers. Linkage analysis yielded a two-point LOD score of 6.1 at straight theta = 0. 0 for marker D5S1354 and a maximum multipoint LOD score of 8.8 at marker D5S1354 located at chromosome 5q34-q35. Linkage analysis in two additional families using markers from the linked region showed one family consistent for linkage to distal chromosome 5. In the second family, linkage to 5q was excluded for all markers in the region with LOD scores Z < -2.0. The vascular endothelial growth factor C receptor ( FLT4 ) was mapped to the linked region, and partial sequence analysis identified a G-->A transition at nucleotide position 3360 of the FLT4 cDNA, predicting a leucine for proline substitution at residue 1126 of the mature receptor in one nuclear family. This study localizes a gene for primary lymphedema to distal chromosome 5q, identifies a plausible candidate gene in the linked region, and provides evidence for a second, unlinked locus for primary lymphedema.