Fuzzy-trace theory and children's false memories

Fuzzy-trace theory's concepts of identity judgment, nonidentity judgment, and similarity judgment provide a unified account of the false-memory phenomena that have been most commonly studied in children: false-recognition effects and misinformation effects. False-recognition effects (elevated false-alarm rates for unpresented distractors that preserve the meanings of presented targets) are due to increased rates of similarity or false identity judgment about distractors or to decreased rates of nonidentity judgment. Misinformation effects (erroneous acceptance of misleading postevent information and erroneous rejection of actual events) are also due to variability in rates of similarity, identity, and nonidentity judgment. Two experimental paradigms are presented, one for false recognition (conjoint recognition) and one for misinformation (conjoint misinformation), that allow investigators to tease apart the contributions of these processes to children's false-memory reports. Each paradigm is implemented in a mathematical model that provides numerical estimates of the processes.     

p-Chlorotetrafluorophenyl esters of N-protected amino acids

p-Chlorotetrafluorophenyl (Tfc) esters of protected amino acids and peptides are more reactive than are the well known pentafluorophenyl (Pfp) esters. Two reagents, p-chlorotetrafluorophenyltrifluoroacetate (Tfc-OTfa) and di-(p-chlorotetrafluorophenyl)carbonate (di-Tfc-carbonate), can be used for their syntheses, thereby avoiding use of the allergic dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. This is especially important for bulk preparations. Many Fmoc- and Boc-amino acid-OTfc esters have been synthesized and characterized. The hexadecameric tandem repeat H-(AlaAlaLysPro)4-OH was synthesized using di-Tfc-carbonate for the preparation of Tfc-esters.     

The indications for operations on the penile veins in venogenic erectile impotence

Unsatisfactory results of surgical management of venous erectile failure are attributed to difficult selection of relevant patients. The operation is to be performed in patients with isolated distal venous outflow. The diagnosis of occult proximal or mixed outflow may be made at dynamic cavernosography with loading test on the device for stimulation of erection. After obtaining the erection and removal of the constriction ring, distal venous outflow is blocked, thus creating the conditions for detection of occult proximal venous outflow. Surgical treatment (ligation of the dorsal vein or its insertion under tunica albuginea) is indicated only for patients free of mixed venous outflow.     

Immunobiological properties of phospholipid antigens of Rickettsia prowazekii incorporated into rickettsial liposomal preparations]

We have reviewed our delivery of highly sophisticated medical therapy, haemodialysis and renal transplantation in a Caribbean setting. The purpose has been to reflect local outcomes in relation to mortality and survival, but comparisons with a vastly larger database have been attempted. Such comparisons are extremely difficult due to methodological differences and the fact that facilities contributing to that database vary considerably with regard to patient age, gender, ethnicity and comorbidity. Nonetheless, the crude data available provide important justification for the existence of regular haemodialysis and its adjunctive therapy of renal transplantation in the Caribbean.     

Endocrine apparatus of the epithelium of the appendicular mucosa (the appendix-- an endocrine gland, functioning in the embryonal period?

Based on the concept on gastroenteropancreatic system, endocrinocytes of which are diffusely scattered throughout the digestive tract epithelium and are found in pancreatic islets, an analysis of endocrine apparatus of epithelium in human appendicular mucosa was performed at different stages of ontogenesis. The response of appendicular endocrinocytes to clinical pathology of both this organ and the entire organism was studied. On the base of the analysis of the appendix function from morphological view, the authors proposed a hypothesis postulating it to be an organ equal to an actively functioning endocrine gland and its unique role on early stages of embryogenesis.     

Fast-to-slow conversion following chronic low-frequency activation of medial gastrocnemius muscle in cats. I. Muscle and motor unit properties

This study of cat medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle and motor unit (MU) properties tests the hypothesis that the normal ranges of MU contractile force, endurance, and speed are directly associated with the amount of neuromuscular activity normally experienced by each MU. We synchronously activated all MUs in the MG muscle with the same activity (20 Hz in a 50% duty cycle) and asked whether conversion of whole muscle contractile properties is associated with loss of the normal heterogeneity in MU properties. Chronically implanted cuff electrodes on the nerve to MG muscle were used for 24-h/day stimulation and for monitoring progressive changes in contractile force, endurance, and speed by periodic recording of maximal isometric twitch and tetanic contractions under halothane anesthesia. Chronic low-frequency stimulation slowed muscle contractions and made them weaker, and increased muscle endurance. The most rapid and least variable response to stimulation was a decline in force output of the muscle and constituent MUs. Fatigue resistance increased more slowly, whereas the increase in time to peak force varied most widely between animals and occurred with a longer time course than either force or endurance. Changes in contractile force, endurance, and speed of the whole MG muscle accurately reflected changes in the properties of the constituent MUs both in extent and time course. Normally there is a 100-fold range in tetanic force and a 10-fold range in fatigue indexes and twitch time to peak force. After chronic stimulation, the range in these properties was significantly reduced and, even in MU samples from single animals, the range was shown to correspond with the slow (type S) MUs of the normal MG. In no case was the range reduced to less than the type S range. The same results were obtained when the same chronic stimulation pattern of 20 Hz/50% duty cycle was imposed on paralyzed muscles after hemisection and unilateral deafferentation. The findings that the properties of MUs still varied within the normal range of type S MUs and were still heterogeneous despite a decline in the variance in any one property indicate that the neuromuscular activity can account only in part for the wide range of muscle properties. It is concluded that the normal range of properties within MU types reflects an intrinsic regulation of properties in the multinucleated muscle fibers.     

Lack of type 2 T cell-independent B cell responses and defect in isotype switching in TNF-lymphotoxin alpha-deficient mice

TNF is implicated in in vitro Ig production, but its role in vivo is not clearly defined. Our previous studies had shown that TNF-LT alpha double-deficient mice have defective IgM and IgG primary Ab responses to the T cell-dependent (TD) Ag SRBC. We now extend these studies to secondary responses and to T cell-independent (TI) B cell responses. Injections of the TD Ag SRBC did not induce germinal center formation in the spleen of TNF-LT alpha-deficient mice. Associated with the morphologic defect, there was a defective IgG Ab response and a secondary hyper-IgM response to the TD Ag in TNF-LT alpha-deficient mice. The response to the TI Ag type 2 DNP-alanyl-glycyl-glycyl-Ficoll was essentially absent in TNF-LT alpha-deficient mice, while that to the TI Ag type 1 TNP-LPS was significantly reduced only for IgG2b isotype. Transplantation of bone marrow cells from wild-type mice into irradiated TNF-LT alpha-deficient mice restored the formation of splenic germinal centers and corrected the IgM and IgG responses to both TD and TI Ags. These data suggest that TNF and/or LT alpha signaling are critically required for germinal center formation and for the IgM and IgG responses to both TD and TI type 2 Ags.     

The neurophysiological and biochemical mechanisms of the dose-dependent amphetamine modulation of the sensorimotor cortex neurons in developing animals

The resulting data give evidences, that after injection of the low doses of amphetamine the decrease of amplitudes both negative (NC-3), and positive components (PC-3) of the thalamo-cortical responses (TCR) of the sensorimotor cortex (SMC) takes place in 2nd-3d-weeks-old rabbits of their postnatal life. At the same time the amplitudes of these phases in 45-50-days-old animals change to greatly less extent, without any system, with low level of statistical significance. After injection of medium doses of amphetamine in 2nd-3d-weeks-old rabbits, the increase in amplitudes of both components of TCR SMC in observed, at the same time in definitive animals the amplitudes of these responses decrease greatly. After injection of the high doses of amphetamine in 2nd-3d-weeks-old rabbits the further increase in amplitude PC-3 and NC-3 is displayed, at the same time the growth of amplitude parameters of TCR SMC appears for elder animals under this concentration of amphetamine only. Neurophysiological and neurochemical analyses of these phenomena are developed. Neuro-ontogenesis hypothesis of causes of high vulnerability of the nervous system in young animals and children during critical period of increased risk under the exposure to both psychotropic drugs and endogenous psychopathogenic factors being proposed, that can simplify search for adequate psychopharmacology protector, etc.