The effects of a narrative model on children's moral judgments.

Tested the hypothesis that children's moral orientation can be influenced by exposure to narrated models that express consistent moral judgments based on either the consequences of an action or the motives of the individual. 66 1st and 2nd graders were randomly assigned to 3 conditions: objective model (judgments based on consequences), subjective model (judgments based on motives), or no model, with an equal number of males and females in each group. Following the procedure of Piaget and others, a pretest presented all Ss with pairs of stories contrasting a well-intentioned act involving serious consequences with an ill-intentioned act involving minor consequences. In the experimental phase which followed the pretest by 2 wks, Ss were exposed to narrative characters who made consistent moral judgments. A posttest conducted by another E followed immediately. Results indicate that the objective model condition significantly increased responding based on consequences, and the subjective model condition significantly increased responding on motives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The rare problem of late recurrence in neuroblastoma

Two-year disease-free survival is considered highly predictive of therapeutic success with neuroblastoma and death from neuroblastoma greater than 5 years after diagnosis is a rare event. We report of an unusual case of death from neuroblastoma 20 years after diagnosis; a literature review and discussion of this rare phenomenon of late recurrence is also included. Five additional cases of late recurrence, defined as greater than 5 years after diagnosis, were found in the literature with adequate detail to be reviewed. Advanced disease was present at diagnosis in five of six cases; three of six had disseminated disease. No age or sex differences were noted. A peculiar tencency for recurrence during the teenage years, preceded by a long disease-free interval, was also present in all cases, perhaps a reflection of maturational alterations in the immune system or hormonal changes that previously had suppressed extensive disease. This phenomenon of late recurrence in neuroblastoma, albeit rare, adds another facet to the clinical behavior of an enigmatic and therapeutically unyielding childhood tumor.     

A simulation study comparing procedures for assessing individual educational growth.

Developed a computer simulation procedure to reproduce the overall pattern of results of the Educational Testing Service 1971 growth study. Then, simulated data for 7 sets of 10,000 to 15,000 cases were analyzed with several techniques for assessing growth. Techniques were compared on the basis of correlations between estimated and true growth scores and of root mean square errors. Growth was estimated most accurately by procedures that involved the pretest-posttest difference, and for practical purposes all estimates that involved this difference had approximately equal accuracy. In particular, the simple difference between pre- and posttest scores seemed about as accurate as any other estimate, was easier to compute, and should be meaningful to nonresearchers. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Radiology in primary hyperaldosteronism

Autonomous hypersecretion of aldosterone (primary hyperaldosteronism) is caused by either hyperplasia (usually bilateral) or an adenoma (frequently unilateral) of the adrenal cortex. Systemic hypertension due to an aldosteronoma is a potentially curable condition through surgical extirpation of the offending organ. In our experience with 37 patients clinically suspected to have primary hyperaldosteronism, radiological methods contributed significantly in preoperative diagnosis. These included (1) selective bilateral adrenal vein catheterization and blood sample collection, (2) adrenal venography, and (3) radioisotope adrenal scan. Unilateral hyperfunction could be accurately detected by the aldosterone assays from the collected samples. When adrenal venography was technically satisfactory, a nodule or aggregate of nodules measuring at least 7 mm and located on the margin of the gland or 1.5 cm or more in diameter when located in the center of the gland were readily identified. Enlarged adrenal gland on venography, in itself, was not a dependable index of a hyperfunctioning gland. Presence of a higher uptake on one side on the radioisotope adrenal scan did not always indicate the hyperfunctioning gland, but lack of lateralization of adrenal hyperfunction was more accurately predicted on the radioisotope scan than by venography. Four histopathological patterns were recognized in the surgically removed adrenal glands, but no correlation between these patterns and clinical behavior or postoperative course was found.     

Ischemic therapy in thrombocytopenia from hypersplenism

Percutaneous transfemoral arterial balloon occlusion or gelatin sponge embolization of the splenic artery or both were carried out in three high-risk patients with hepatic cirrhosis to reduce splenic hyperfunction and improve severe thrombocytopenia. Although this maneuver raised peripheral platelet counts in each patient, in one patient left upper quadrant pain with splinting of the lower chest cage led to hypostatic lower lobe pneumonia, while in another septic splentitis with gas-forming organisms necessitated splecectomy. Transfemoral occlusion of the splenic artery, although an effective, noninvasive approach to control splenic hyperfunction, has at the same time potential dangers that should be viewed with extreme caution in therapeutic application.     

Metallothionein and its relationship to the metabolism of dietary zinc in rats

Metallothionein (MTN), a low molecular weight cytoplasmic metalloprotein has previously been implicated in the metabolism of Zn. Experiments were conducted with rats to determine the effect of feeding varying levels of dietary Zn for short periods on the increase or decrease in MTN-bound Zn. The results indicated that MTN-Zn in both liver and intestinal mucosal cytosol responded rapidly to an altered dietary Zn level and that serum Zn was directly related to the appearance of MTN. 65Zn absorption also responded rapidly to a change in dietary Zn and was inversely correlated with intestinal mucosal MTN-Zn. Hepatic 65Zn uptake appeared to be directly correlated with liver MTN-Zn. A 24 hour fast increased MTN-Zn in rats fed two different levels of Zn except in those rats that were previously treated with actinomycin D. The antibiotic, which blocks DNA-dependent RNA synthesis, appeared to block Zn uptake from blood to the liver. These findings offer support for the involvement of MTN in zinc metabolism.     

Maternal malignant melanoma metastatic to the products of conception. Report of a case

Beclomethasone dipropionate aerosol at a dose of 100 mug four times a day was administered to 32 patients suffering from chronic perennial asthma. Twenty-three of these patients had previously received prolonged treatment with corticosteroids, causing various degrees of adrenal suppression in some patients. Almost complete recovery of adrenal function was observed within a period of six months in most patients. Treatment with beclomethasone dipropionate did not affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in the other nine asthmatic patients who had not received prolonged corticosteroid therapy previously and who served as a control group.     

Formalin treatment for intractable hemorrhagic cystitis: a review of the literature with 16 additional cases

Acute, exsanguinating hemorrhagic cystitis secondary to cyclophosphamide therapy, radiation therapy, or an infiltrating bladder tumor may be managed successfully with intravesical Formalin therapy. The indications for its use, the technique, success rates, and complications are discussed. This treatment was effective in 14 of 16 patients in the present series and 79 of 90 cases reported in the literature. Dilutions of 4% or less were as effective as a 10% dilution and were associated with far fewer complications. The early use of Formalin in the treatment of intractable hemorrhagic cystitis is recommended.     

Transsexualism in two male triplets

The authors present clinical and case material on two male triplets with aberrant gender identity. Their findings coincide with those of the few family studies reported in which there were two or more transsexual members; they also reveal patterns generally in keeping with the psychological determinants of transsexualism suggested by Stoller.