Note of clarification on Scholten and Sherman (2006): Erratum.

Reports an error in "Tradeoffs and Theory: The Double-Mediation Model" by Marc Scholten and Steven J. Sherman (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2006 May, Vol 135[2], 237-261). This article was inadvertently printed with the incorrect title. The original title was "Tradeoffs and Conflict: The Double-Mediation Model." This title highlights the relation between tradeoffs and conflict as investigated by the authors and accounted for by their model. However, readers are asked to refer to the article by the title with which it was printed to facilitate its retrieval.. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2006-06642-006.) Most theories of decision making suggest that, when options imply tradeoffs between their attributes, conflict increases as tradeoff size increases, because greater sacrifices are to be incurred in choosing one option instead of another. An alternative view is that conflict decreases as tradeoff size increases, because stronger arguments can be made for any decision. The authors propose a unified model, the double-mediation model, which combines the mediating effects of sacrifice and argumentation. Our model generally predicts an inverse U-shaped relation between tradeoff size and conflict. Results support this prediction. Also, when the decision situation increases the mediating effect of sacrifice relative to that of argumentation, the relation between tradeoff size and conflict changes in an upward direction; conversely, when the decision situation increases the mediating effect of argumentation relative to that of sacrifice, the relation changes in a downward direction. Results support these predictions as well. Commonalities and differences between our model and other formulations are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cytotoxic effects of topotecan combined with various anticancer agents in human cancer cell lines

BACKGROUND: Topotecan (TPT) is a topoisomerase I poison that exhibits antineoplastic activity. Analysis of the cytotoxic effects of combinations of TPT and other anticancer agents has been limited. PURPOSE: We assessed the cytotoxic effects produced by combinations of TPT and other antineoplastic agents in experiments involving multiple human cancer cell lines of diverse histologic origins. METHODS: The cytotoxic effects of various antimetabolites (fluorouracil, methotrexate, or cytarabine), antimicrotubule agents (vincristine or paclitaxel [Taxol]), DNA alkylating agents (melphalan, bis[chloroethyl]nitrosourea [BCNU], or 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide [4HC]), and a DNA-platinating agent (cisplatin), alone and in combination with TPT, were measured in clonogenic (i.e., colony-forming) assays. HCT8 ileocecal adenocarcinoma, A549 non-small-cell lung carcinoma, NCI-H82ras(H) lung cancer, T98G glioblastoma, and MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines were used in these assays. The data were analyzed by the median effect method, primarily under the assumption that drug mechanisms of action were mutually nonexclusive (i.e., completely independent of one another). For each level of cytotoxicity (ranging from 5% to 95%), a drug combination index (CI) was calculated. A CI less than 1 indicated synergy (i.e., the effect of the combination was greater than that expected from the additive effects of the component agents), a CI equal to 1 indicated additivity, and a CI greater than 1 indicated antagonism (the effect of the combination was less than that expected from the additive effects of the component agents). RESULTS: When the mechanisms of drug action were assumed to be mutually nonexclusive, virtually all CIs for combinations of TPT and either antimetabolites or antimicrotubule agents revealed cytotoxic effects that were less than additive. The CIs calculated at low-to-intermediate levels of cytotoxicity for combinations of TPT and the DNA alkylating agents melphalan, BCNU, and 4HC also showed drug effects that were less than additive; in most cases, however, nearly additive or even synergistic effects were observed with these same drug combinations at high levels of cytotoxicity (i.e., at > or = 90% inhibition of colony formation). Results obtained with combinations of TPT and cisplatin varied according to the cell line examined. With A549 cells, less than additive effects were seen at low-to-intermediate levels of cytotoxicity, and more than additive effects were seen at high levels of cytotoxicity. With NCI-H82ras(H) cells, synergy was observed over most of the cytotoxicity range. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: TPT cytotoxicity appears to be enhanced more by combination with certain DNA-damaging agents than by combination with antimetabolites or antimicrotubule agents. Interactions between TPT and other drugs can vary depending on the cell type examined. Further investigation is required to determine the basis of the observed effects and to determine whether these in vitro findings are predictive of results obtained in vivo.     

Men, medicine and machines

PURPOSE: To examine the management and possible causes of primary valve malfunction of the Krupin eye valve with disk. METHODS: The authors reviewed the results of 113 patients undergoing implantation of the Krupin eye valve with disk and identified eight patients with primary valve malfunction requiring surgical revision. RESULTS: Valve revision involved manipulation (n = 1 case), explantation of the malfunctioning valve and implantation of a new valve (n = 2), and amputation of the valve (n = 5). Six of eight patients had final intraocular pressures of < 21 mmHg on one or no medications at a mean interval of 15.9 months (range 5-36) after surgical revision. Transient postoperative hypotony was noted in three patients and chronic hypotony with loss of light perception in one patient. One explanted valve was examined and found to have partially fused leaflets. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical revision in cases of primary valve malfunction of the Krupin eye valve with disk may be accomplished relatively safely with an acceptable level of postoperative complications. The etiology of primary valve malfunction may be related to the sterilization process and prolonged storage before implantation.     

The need for style systems in ODA

Many advanced document systems provide a formatting mechanism called ‘style sheets’ Style sheets provide a great deal of flexibility in describing a document's format, and allow easy maintenance of different house styles for a collection of documents. In this paper, we describe the basics of general style sheet systems, argue that successful document interchange must include the exchange of style sheet information, and evaluate ODA's style mechanism against this requirement.     

An extended panel of hamster-human hybrids for chromosome 2q

A hamster-human hybrid containing only the q arm of chromosome 2 has been used to construct a panel of hybrids bearing reduced regions of chromosome 2 using the technique of irradiation fusion gene transfer. The human chromosome 2 carried the Ecogpt gene and all hybrids were selected using this marker. The integrated Ecogpt gene was localized to the region 2q33-34, resulting in the selective retention of this region in the hybrids. These data were combined with another previously constructed panel of hybrids containing regions of 2q, which were enriched for the region 2q36-37. The combined hybrid panel is useful for the mapping of new markers to defined regions of chromosome 2 and for the cloning of genes located on 2q by a positional strategy.     

Fetus-in-fetu with malignant recurrence

Fetus-in-fetu is an unusual condition in which a vertebrate fetus is enclosed within the abdomen of another fetus. These occurrences are usually benign. This report describes an instance of malignant recurrence after resection of a fetus-in-fetu.     

RNA movement between the nucleus and the cytoplasm

The past year has seen significant advances in our understanding of the mechanism of RNA movement between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. The emerging view is that proteins bind to and escort RNAs to their proper subcellular location. The discovery of peptide signals that target nuclear export and the identification of novel protein mediators of RNA export are examples of significant recent discoveries.