Mental representations of attachment in identical female twins with and without conduct problems.

Insecure mental representations of attachment, a nearly invariant feature of cluster B personality disorders, have never previously been studied in twins. We conducted the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) on 33 pairs of monozygotic (MZ) female twins reared together as an initial exploration of causal influences on mental representations of attachment. As predicted by attachment theory, we observed substantial twin-twin concordance for attachment security (odds ratio 13.

Results of preoperative ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration biopsy of solitary thyroid nodules as compared with the histology. A retrospective analysis of 538 patients.

Aim: The goal of this study was to assess the accuracy and limitations of ultrasound guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (ug-FNAB) of solitary thyroid nodules.

Methods: The ug-FNAB results of 538 patients with solitary thyroid nodules, who afterwards underwent thyroid surgery, were compared retrospectively with the histology. Patients with multinodular goiter were excluded from the study.

A new type of bradykinin B2 receptor antagonists: bradykinin analogs with N-alkyl amino acids at position 2.

It is commonly assumed that bradykinin B2 receptor antagonists bind to a receptor site partially different from that for agonists. Thus, it is likely that there exists more than one key modification to convert bradykinin receptor agonists into antagonists. In this respect, [L-NMePhe2]-BK represents the basic structure of a new type of bradykinin B2 receptor antagonists without any replacement at position 7.

Release of cytokines from isolated lung strips by bradykinin.

Bradykinin as an inflammatory mediator was assayed for its ability to release cytokines from isolated lung tissue derived from guinea pigs, mice and in some cases from patients. Bradykinin elicited in concentrations, which were able to induce a contraction of isolated lung strips, a secretion of different cytokines from the tissue into organ baths as well as from lung tissue incubated in petri dishes (4h, 37 degrees C). Using enzyme immuno assays and the tanned erythrocyte electrophoretic mobility (TEEM)-test in combination with monoclonal antibodies the cytokines could be identified preferably as interleukin(IL)-1, IL-2, sIL-2R and IL-6.

Influence of serotonin on lymphokine secretion in vitro.

It was found that serotonin can induce the secretion of a chemotactic activity for polymorphonuclear granulocytes and the secretion of charge-changing in in lymphocyte cultures derived from guinea pigs and mice. The serotonin antagonists methysergide, pizotiphen, cyproheptadine and ketanserin inhibited the secretion of the serotonin-elicited factors, whereas the histamine-type 2 antagonist metiamide had no inhibitory effect. Moreover, the production of Concanavalin A-induced lymphokines (migration inhibition factor for macrophages, chemotactic factor for polymorphonuclear granulocytes and for thymocytes, charge-changing lymphokines) was suppressed in the presence of serotonin in the lymphocyte cultures.