Taste aversion disruption by drug pretreatment: dissociative and drug-specific effects.

Disruption of taste aversion learning following the administration of the same drug prior to and during conditioning (intra-agent disruption) was shown to be greater than disruption following the administration of one drug prior to conditioning and another during conditioning (inter-agent disruption). Comparable dosages of ethanol and lithium chloride served as unconditioned stimuli. Inter-agent disruptions are attributed to a dissociation of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli, while intra-agent disruptions are attributed to both a dissociative effect and drug-specific effects.

Circulating immunoreactive substance P in man.

Immunoreactive substance P (iSP) has been measured in plasma in 77 normal subjects and in 125 hospital patients. Factors affectingin-vitro degradation of iSP were studied.In vivo, iSP is degraded in the liver and its level in the circulation is independent of kidney excretory function.

High-sensitivity radioimmunoassay for substance P.

Optimisation of a non-equilibrium radioimmunoassay for substance P is described. The assay has a sensitivity of 2 pg (1.5 fmole), sufficient for substance P determinations in unexcepted human plasma and other biological material.

A quality control program for the radioimmunoassay laboratory.

The major problems in applying quality control to radioimmunoassay measurements are (a) nonlinearity of the dose-response curve, and (b) nonuniformity of the residual variance. A logit-log transformation of the dose-response variables combined with an iterative weighted regression analysis appears to overcome most of the difficulties. This technic is particularly helpful when applied to substandard runs where extraneous standard points tend to distort assay results.

Determination of ionized calcium in serum that has been exposed to air.

We examined changes in ionized calcium concentration in serum after its exposure to air. Samples with total protein concentrations ranging from 50 to 90 g/liter were equilibrated with CO2 in nitrogen (5/95, by vol) or CO2 alone, to produce pH values of 7.0 to 8.

Post-detoxification drug treatment of anxiety and depression in alcohol addicts.

A study was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of treating alcoholics after detoxification for the very commonly observed syndrome of anxiety, depression, and somatic complaints. Previous studies had indicated that these patients generally respond quite well to drug treatment with the phenothiazine class of drugs. However, a double blind placebo-controlled study of adequate size had not been undertaken.

Halfway houses for alcoholics: a review, analysis and comparisons with other halfway house facilities.

Eight halfway houses for alcoholics were surveyed and compared to other halfway houses for alcoholics, and halfway houses for the non-alcoholic mentally ill, as described in previous studies. The halfway houses for alcoholics surveyed in the present report may be separated into two principal groups: (a) a self-supporting profit-oriented type with an autonomous owner-operator, and (b) a board-controlled and supported type usually receiving group or institutional support. Regardless of group membership, however, none of the halfway houses for alcoholics in the present study matched the high standards set by halfway houses for the non-alcoholic mentally ill as described in other reports.

A stabilised tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane adduct in reduced collagen.

The reduction of collagen with sodium [3H] borohydride in the presence of Tris buffer results in the stabilization of a Schiff base adduct which is formed between allysine residues and tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane. The reduced, radioactive derivative of this adduct has been identified in hydrolyzates or reduced collagen. It elutes before hydroxylysine on an amino acid analyzer column close to the position of dihydroxylysinonorleucine.

Effect of preconditioning unconditioned stimulus experience on learned taste aversions.

One taste-aversion study using male Long-Evans rats in which ethanol was the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and six studies in which lithium chloride (LiCl) was the UCS demonstrate that (a) exposure to the UCS prior to conditioning retards subsequent acquisition of learned taste aversions; (b) a single preconditioning UCS exposure is sufficient to attenuate conditioning; (c) the preconditioning UCS exposure must occur within a limited period prior to conditioning to attenuate learning; (d) repeated conditioning trials will override the effect of prior exposure to the UCS; (e) tolerance to the UCS is not a necessary condition for the attenuation effect to occur; (f) pairing the preconditioning UCS with a novel flavor other than the CS does not remove the preexposure effect, although it may reduce its magnitude; and (g) the degree of disruption is a positive function of preconditioning UCS dosage and an inverse function of conditioning UCS dosage.

Improved method for euglobulin clot lysis time.

1. The use of Evans Blue dye to facilitate endpoint determination the elimination of 4 degrees, assay conditions are technical improvements in the euglobulin clot lysis test. 2.