Effects of sex and MK-801 on auditory-processing deficits associated with developmental microgyric lesions in rats

Neonatally induced microgyric lesions produce defects in rapid auditory processing in adult male rats. Given that females across species are less susceptible to the deleterious effects of neural injury and that treatment with neuroprotective agents at the time of injury can reduce neural damage, the authors tested the effects of sex and neuroprotectant exposure on the behavioral consequences of microgyric lesions in rats. Results showed that sham but not microgyric males were able to perform the task at the fastest rate of stimulus presentation. Microgyric females, in contrast, discriminated at all stimulus conditions and did not differ from female shams. Microgyric males treated with MK-801 had reduced cortical damage and performed the discrimination at the fastest condition. Results suggest that females are less susceptible to the behavioral effects of neocortical microgyria and that MK-801 may ameliorate the behavioral consequences of these lesions in male rats.     

An interactive graphics system for real-time investigation and multivariate data portrayal for complex pedigree data systems

GRIFFIN (graphics investigation of familial information), an interactive graphics system for exploratory investigation of data on individuals associated by familial relationships, was designed to provide genetic epidemiologists a flexible, rapidly responsive tool for viewing and guiding exploration of complex databases in the context of familiar pedigree structures. It graphically portrays both categorical and multivariate scalar data on individuals in those structures. The display can be inverted to show all ancestors and descendants of any individual the user designates. It provides cues to censored information when bushy pedigrees cannot be fully displayed without sacrificing legibility. These guide users on where to next invert the system. Investigators may translate/zoom the display, vary the mode of representing data, point to individuals to obtain displays of alphameric information about them, etc. Developed in Fortran using IBM's GDDM graphics subroutines for an IBM 3090 mainframe, GRIFFIN's design anticipates porting to smaller systems.     

Toxicity of an antitumor ribonuclease to Purkinje neurons

Purkinje cell toxicity is one of the characteristic features of the Gordon phenomenon, a syndrome manifested by ataxia, muscular rigidity, paralysis, and tremor that may lead to death (Gordon, 1933). Two members of the RNase superfamily found in humans, EDN (eosinophil-derived neurotoxin) and ECP (eosinophil cationic protein), cause the Gordon phenomenon when injected intraventricularly into guinea pigs or rabbits. We have found that another member of the RNase superfamily, an antitumor protein called onconase, isolated from Rana pipiens oocytes and early embryos, will also cause the Gordon phenomenon when injected into the cerebrospinal fluid of guinea pigs at a dose similar to that of EDN (LD50, 3-4 micrograms). Neurologic abnormalities of onconase-treated animals were indistinguishable from those of EDN-treated animals, and histology showed dramatic Purkinje cell loss in the brains of onconase-treated animals. The neurotoxic activity of onconase correlates with ribonuclease activity. Onconase modified by iodoacetic acid to eliminate 70% and 98% of the ribonuclease activity of the native enzyme displays a similar decrease in ability to cause the Gordon phenomenon. In contrast, the homologous bovine pancreatic RNase A injected intraventricularly at a dose 5000 times greater than the LD50 dose of EDN or onconase is not toxic and does not cause the Gordon phenomenon. A comparison of the RNase activities of EDN, onconase, and bovine pancreatic RNase A using three pancreatic RNA substrates demonstrates that onconase is orders of magnitude less active enzymatically than EDN and RNase A. Thus, another member of the RNase superfamily in addition to EDN and ECP can cause the Gordon phenomenon.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Religiosity and emotional disturbance: A test of Ellis's thesis in his own counseling center.

Assessed the validity of A. Ellis's (1971, 1973, 1981) contention that being religious was negatively correlated with mental health. 28 very religious, 34 atheist, and 33 religiously-neutral individuals seeking consultation were compared on the frequency and number of 8 reported problems. Contrary to Ellis's prediction, there were no significant differences among the groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Controlling insulin-like growth factor activity and the modulation of insulin-like growth factor binding protein and receptor binding

The insulin-like growth factors (IGF) and insulin perform seemingly unique roles by causing the same metabolic effect: cellular hypertrophy. Although overlapping, there are different consequences to cellular hypertrophy induced by IGF and that induced by insulin. The IGF enhance the cell hypertrophy that is requisite for cell survival, hyperplasia, and differentiation, and insulin enhances cell hypertrophy primarily as a means to increase nutrient stores. The effects of IGF and insulin are controlled by the segregation of their receptors between different cell types. A model is discussed that describes the need for three hormones (IGF-I, IGF-II, and insulin) to control nutrient partitioning. Insulin receptor localization, as well as an episodic mode of secretion, evolved to perform the short-term action of clearing excess nutrients from the circulation. In contrast, a complex and interactive set of factors ensure that maximal IGF activity occurs only when conditions are optimal for growth. A relatively invariant rate of secretion and the IGF binding proteins serve to maintain a large mutable pool of IGF. This pool exists to ensure a constant supply of IGF to maintain the basal metabolic rate and to ensure that, once a cell begins to proliferate or differentiate, adequate exposure is available to complete the process even after severe short-term physiological insults. The IGF concentrations only change in response to prolonged differences in protein and energy availabilities, environmental and body temperatures, and external stress. Also, evidence is now emerging that describes a discrete role for trace nutrients in the regulation of IGF activity. In this latter regard, zinc has the notable role of targeting IGF binding proteins to the cell surface. New data are presented showing that zinc also changes the affinity of the type 1 IGF receptor and cell-associated IGF binding proteins to optimize IGF activity.     

Factors affecting contrasting results between self-reported and performance-based levels of physical limitation

Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) maps of certain 3-methoxy flavone derivatives having different anti-picornavirus activities have been studied. Geometries of the molecules were optimised and charge distributions computed using the AM1 molecular orbital method. Hybridization displacement charges (HDC) were combined with the L?wdin charge distributions to compute the MEP maps. Reliability of the method of computing MEP maps was tested by studying certain other molecules for which ab initio MEP results are available. The anti-picornavirus activities of the flavones have been shown to be related with negative MEP values in two regions, one near the 3-methoxy group and another in a diagonally opposite region near the substituent attached to the C7 atom of the molecules.