Sensation Seeking and Adaptation in Parabonauts.

Evidence from extreme environments suggests that there are relationships between difficulties of adaptation and psychological factors such as personality. In the framework of microgravity research on humans, the aim of this exploratory study was to investigate inter-individual differences of parabonauts on the basis of quality of adaptation to the physical demands of parabolic flights. The personality characteristics of two groups of parabonauts with a different quality of adaptation (an Adaptive group, = 7, and a Maladaptive group, = 15) were assessed using the Sensation Seeking Scale, Brief COPE, and MSSQ-Short.

Moderate anxiety modifies the electromyographic activity of a forearm muscle during a time-reaction task in women.

Arousal anxiety has a great impact on reaction time, physiological parameters and motor performance. Numerous studies have focused on the influence of anxiety on muscular activity during simple non ecologic task. We investigate the impact of a moderate state-anxiety (arousal stressor) on the specific component of a complex multi-joint ecologic movement during a reaction time task of auditory stimulus-response.

Personality traits of people attracted by parabolic flight.

Background: Studies have shown that members of expeditions in extreme environments differed on the basis of personality factors (e.g., they were highly competitive, higher on Extraversion and Conscientiousness) compared to the control population.

The time course of autonomic parameters and muscle tension during recovery following a moderate cognitive stressor: dependency on trait anxiety level.

It has proved difficult to demonstrate the differences in physiological response in individuals with contrasting trait anxiety levels. The purpose of this study was to examine tonic autonomic activity and muscle tension in male subjects with different levels of trait anxiety during and especially after a stressful situation. Twenty-eight low anxiety (LA) and thirty-one high anxiety (HA) individuals performed a video-recorded Stroop color-word interference test.

The role of trait anxiety on static balance performance in control and anxiogenic situations.

Recent studies have highlighted interactions between state anxiety, sensory processing involved in motor performance, and personality traits such as trait anxiety. In the present study, we investigated the effects of moderate state anxiety on static balance performance with eyes open and eyes closed in two groups of healthy subjects with contrasting trait anxiety. We found that an anxiogenic condition induces larger and faster body swaying in both groups in the eyes-open test.

[Claude Bernard and the Comptes Rendus de la Société de Biologie: the movie of the physiological revolution by him who made it (1849-1878)].

Claude Bernard presented most of his fundamental results to the Société de Biologie, including proof of the modulation of the nervous system by the internal micromilieu. However, he did not describe the principle of a stable internal milieu as a condition for free life. Physiology, which is a part of biology, was not founded on cellular biology.

Trait-anxiety dependence of movement time performance in a bimodal choice task in subjects exposed to moderate anxiogenic conditions.

Recent studies have provided insight into the interdependence between state-anxiety, trait-anxiety and motor performances. In the present study, we investigated in very low trait-anxiety (VLTA) and normal trait-anxiety (NTA) subjects, the effects of moderate state-anxiety induced by the video-recorded Stroop color word interference test, on reaction time and movement time in bimodal choice response time task providing either visual or auditory modality. We found that in anxiogenic condition, movement time performances were improved in visual modality in NTA subjects, and in auditory modality in VLTA subjects.

Effects of mood states and anxiety as induced by the video-recorded stroop color-word interference test in simple response time tasks on reaction time and movement time.

Mood states and anxiety might alter performance in complex tasks whereas in more simple tasks such as stimulus-response, high anxiety could provoke bias in mechanisms of attention leading to better performances. We investigated the effects of anxiety, tension, and fatigue induced by the video-recorded Stroop Color-Word Interference Test on either reaction or movement time. 61 subjects performed a visual and an auditory response-time test in Control and Anxiogenic conditions during which heart rate was measured.

Moderate state-anxiety differently modulates visual and auditory response times in normal- and very low trait-anxiety subjects.

Because relationships between mood states, personality and motor performances remain ambiguous, we investigated in very low trait-anxiety (VLTA) and normal trait-anxiety (NTA) subjects, the effects of moderate state-anxiety, tension and fatigue induced by the video-recorded Stroop Color-Word Interference Test on reaction time and movement time in visual and auditory tasks. Our results show that visual response time performances were improved in NTA subjects, while auditory response time performances were improved in VLTA subjects. In both groups, improvement of performance occurred at the reaction time and movement time level.

[Aspects of hemostasis and the immunology of burns].

Burn injury haemostasis and immunology are described comprehensively, in terms of the involvement of kallikrein/antiproteases anti-kallikrein system. The plasma prekallikrein level correlates with prognosis and infection. The kallikrein, active on angio-haemostasis, depress cellular immunity.

[Kallikrein inhibition of the expression of the lymphocyte E rosette receptor. Prevention of this effect by alpha-2-macroglobulin].

In vitro Kallikrein inhibits the expression of lymphocytes-E-rosetting-receptor. The preincubation of alpha-2-macroglobulin with Kallikrein prevents this effect quickly. The incubation with alpha-2-macroglobulin of Kallikrein pretreated-lymphocytes is ineffective.

[Viral hepatitis A: specific immunological aspects before and after exposure to risk].

The serum samples collected from 1279 healthy subjects were studied by radio-immunologic methods before they were given polyvalent immunoglobulin for hepatitis A prophylaxis. They departed all together for the endemic area at the same time. 1220 remained healthy, and serum samples (120 th day) were studied once again.

[Specific immunological profile of candidates for hepatitis A].

Blood samples were taken from 1,279 healthy adults for radioimmunological studies before their collective departure to an endemic area and received an administration of polyvalent immunoglobin for hepatitis A prophylaxis. On the 120th day, 1,220 subjects were in good health and their serum was studied again. Hepatitis A was observed in 59 cases, confirmed either by the presence of virus in the stool or by the demonstration of anti-HAV IgM, when other causes of hepatitis had been excluded.

[Production of human antitetanus antibodies by hybridomas].

Peripheral blood lymphocytes from healthy people recently immunized against tetanus toxoid (TT) were fused with human malignant B-cell lines or mouse myeloma cells (X63 Ag8.653) in an attempt to establish stable B cell hybridomas secreting anti TT antibodies. Human-human fusion experiments were not successful.

[Hemostasis in burn patients and treatment with heparin. Relation to prognosis and infection. Pattern of blood levels of prekallikrein, alpha-2-macroglobulin, antithrombin III, plasminogen and alpha-2-antiplasmin].

In burnt patients with a fatal prognosis, the level of prekallikrein is initially low and further diminished. In burnt patients who survive, the initial decrease of the prekallikrein level is less pronounced and is progressively overcome, significantly by the sixth day. Moreover the decrease of the prekallikrein level occurs before and during clinical infection.

Human dialysable leucocyte extracts (transfer factor) in interstitial pneumonia. A retrospective trial in immunodeficient patients.

Thirty-six cases of interstitial pneumonia in acquired immunodeficient states were treated with transfer factor (Dialysable Leukocyte Extract) and studied retrospectively. The criteria of efficacity of this treatment were: rapidity of immediate improvement, improvement after failure of other immunostimulant therapy and demonstration of a dose-related effect. The mechanism of the therapeutic action is unclear.