[A methodological perspective on generalization, discrimination, and prejudices].

Background: As a result of a common misunderstanding of the concepts of generalization, discrimination and prejudice, their methodological significance for a scientific psychiatry gets out of sight.

Aim: An attempt to rehabilitate these concepts METHOD: An explorative consideration based on actual trends in society and mental health care RESULTS: Examples are given of the one-sided framing of these concepts in society and psychiatric practice as well as of their positive contribution to a better understanding of psychiatric problems, to better diagnostics and, as a result, psychiatry as a scientific discipline.

Conclusion: It remains necessary to take a critical look at one’s own bias in the form of generalization, discrimination and prejudices.

VSIG-3 as a ligand of VISTA inhibits human T-cell function.

B7 family members and their receptors play a central role in the regulation of T-cell responses through T-cell co-stimulation and co-inhibition pathways that constitute attractive targets for the development of immunotherapeutic drugs. In this study, we report that VSIG-3/IGSF11 is a ligand of B7 family member VISTA/PD-1H and inhibits human T-cell functions through a novel VSIG-3/VISTA pathway. An extensive functional ELISA binding screening assay reveals that VSIG-3 binds to the new B7 family member VISTA but does not interact with other known members of the B7 family.

[The attractive but illusory autonomy of a one-sided explanatory model for the psychopathology].

Nowadays psychiatry is dominated by the scientific perspective of biological psychiatry according to which a psychiatrist should be first and foremost a brain specialist with a biomedical approach to patients and their problems. This constitutes a threat to the fundamental notion that a psychiatrist is concerned primarily with the workings of the mind and it reduces the discipline to a form of behavioural neurology. This restrictive interpretation fails to do justice to the theory that psychopathology has a multitude of causes.

Adaptation to permanent night work: the number of consecutive work nights and motivated choice.

To study the effects of different patterns of days on and days off duty within a permanent night shift schedule, we studied two groups of female permanent night nurses, one (n = 42) working 'many' nights in a row, and the other (n = 36) working 'few' nights in a row. The groups were matched for several important moderating variables. All nurses were interviewed individually, and they answered several questionnaires.

Lithium als adjuvans bij een therapie-resistente depressie: een casus.

Lithium was added to imipramine in case of a 55-year old depressed woman who didn't respond to imipramine alone. There was a clear improvement within a few days on 900 mg lithium carbonate a day (lithium plasmalevel 0.9 mmol/l).

Primary structure of diphtheria toxin fragment B: structural similarities with lipid-binding domains.

Two different lipid-associating domains have been identified in the B fragment of diphtheria toxin using automated Edman degradation of its cyanogen bromide peptides, secondary structure prediction analysis, and comparisons with known phospholipid-interacting proteins. The first domain is located in the highly hydrophilic (polarity index [PI] = 61.0%) 9.

Conformational studies on somatostatin. II. The C-terminal hexapeptide fragment.

The results of a conformational study on the C terminal hexapeptide of Somatostatin are presented. Semi-empirical energy calculations and high resolution NMR methods have been used to obtain information on the conformational properties of SRIF9-14 in [2H6]dimethylsulfoxide and 2H2O. It is concluded from the energy calculations that the peptide has an averaged conformation in which semi extended and folded structures are important.

Synthesis and pharmacological properties of [1-N4-dimethyl-asparagine]-angiotensin II.

[1-N4-Dimethyl-asparagine]-angiotensin II was synthesized by Merrifield's solid-phase procedure. The analogue gave rat blood pressure about 70% relative potency to Hypertension (Ciba). Rabbit aorta strips gave intrinsic activity alpha E = 1, a PD2 of 6.

The conformational properties of some fragments of the peptide hormone somatostatin.

The conformational properties of some somatostatin fragments have been studied using high resolution NMR and semi-empirical calculations. The fragments are Thr10-Phe11, Phe11-Thr12, Thr10-Phe11-Thr12 and Thr10-Phe11-Thr12-Ser13. The results of high resolution 1H and 13C NMR using dimethylsulfoxide and 2H2O as solvents, combined with a new method for determining dihedral angles phi and psi from 13C and 1H spin lattice relaxation times are presented.

A program for generation and selection of possible conformations of cyclic molecules.

An algorithm has been developped for the computer generation of the possible conformations of non-planar cyclic molecules. This algorithm has been used successfully to select the known conformations of the ribose ring, of substituted cyclohexane and of disulfide bridged peptides. Its use may be extended to open molecules when the end-to-end distance is known or imposed.

Isolation and characterization of the cyanogen bromide peptides from the B fragment of diphtheria toxin.

Homogeneous fragment B, obtained through nicking of diphtheria toxin with insoluble trypsin, was cleaved with cyanogen bromide in 70% formic acid. After citraconylation, the cleavage products were separated by gel filtration on Sephadex G--75 and purified by gel filtration, ion-exchange and thin-layer or paper chromatography. Six CNBr peptides were characterized, the composition of which account for the total amino acid content of fragment B.

Occurrence of tryptophan in the enzymically active site of diphtheria toxin fragment A.

Tryptophan residues of diphtheria toxin fragment A have been modified by 2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzyl bromide. Fragment A loses its ability to inactivate ADP-ribosylation of the elongation factor 2, as a function of the number of residues modified. Modification of one tryptophan residue provides a dramatic loss of enzymic activity suggesting the presence of one essential residue of this type in fragment A.

[In vivo assay of antisomatotropic activity of somatostatin and two of its analogs].

Somatostatin (Growth hormone release inhibiting hormone or somatotrophin-release inhibiting factor) and its analogues can be measured in vivo by inhibiting the pentobarbital induced growth hormone release in male rats. Experimental conditions must be carefully defined to become optimal.