Behavioral assessment of personality disorders.

This article examines the definition of personality disorders (PDs) from a functional analytical framework and discusses the potential utility of such a framework to account for behavioral tendencies associated with PD pathology. Also reviewed are specific behavioral assessment methods that can be employed in the assessment of PDs, and how information derived from these assessments may be linked to specific intervention strategies.

A phenolic antioxidant from the freshwater orchid, Habenaria repens.

Recently, an unusual compound named habenariol was isolated from the freshwater orchid, Habenaria repens. Its phenolic structure suggested that habenariol should have substantial antioxidant activity. This possibility was investigated by evaluating the capacity of habenariol to inhibit copper-induced lipid peroxidation of human low density lipoprotein (LDL), a popular experimental model.

Effect of exercise during the follicular and luteal phases on indices of oxidative stress in healthy women.

Purpose: Eleven healthy nonsmoking women (24+/-1.1 yr) exercised for 30 min at 75-80% VO2max during the follicular (F) and luteal (L) phases of their menstrual cycle to determine whether menstrual phase influenced indices of oxidative stress.

Methods: Subjects completed the exercise in a randomized order.

Vitamin D receptors: not just in the nucleus anymore.

Calcitriol, the active metabolite of vitamin D, is a steroid hormone that regulates calcium metabolism and cell differentiation by interacting with its nuclear receptor--the vitamin D receptor (VDR)--and by stimulating gene transcription. During the last decade, calcitriol also has been shown to stimulate rapid signal transduction pathways. This observation supports the hypothesis that a membrane-bound receptor similar to those that mediate peptide hormone biology exists.

Prediction of dysfunctional job behaviors among law enforcement officers.

This study examined the predictability of dysfunctional job behaviors among law enforcement officers using 3 scales (Responsibility, Socialization, and Self-Control) of the California Psychological Inventory (H. G. Gough, 1995) that were hypothesized to assess the construct of conscientiousness, and 3 construct-oriented life history indices (drug use, criminal, work).

Relationship between 800-m running performance and accumulated oxygen deficit in middle-distance runners.

Purpose: To determine whether there is a significant relationship between accumulated oxygen deficit (AOD) and 800-m running performance in a group of runners of homogeneous ability.

Methods: Nine well-trained male middle and long distance runners (age = 24.7 +/- 4.

Transient kinetics of substrate binding to Na+/K(+)-ATPase measured by fluorescence quenching.

This paper examines the transient kinetics of substrate binding to the Na+/K(+)-ATPase labelled with iodoacetamidofluorescein (IAF) using fluorescence quenching by trinitrophenyl-ATP (TNP-ATP). Earlier work (E.H.

Nucleotide binding to IAF-labelled Na+/K(+)-ATPase measured by steady state fluorescence quenching by TNP-ADP.

Nucleotide binding to 5-iodoacetamidofluorescein (IAF) labelled Na+/K(+)-ATPase was measured by steady state fluorescence quenching of the fluorescein label via energy transfer to trinitrophenyl (TNP) labelled nucleotide. TNP-nucleotides are valuable probes of nucleotide binding to ATPases. Interpretation of these and other experiments in our laboratory using TNP-nucleotides with the Na+/K(+)-ATPase rely on having a good model for the interaction of TNP-nucleotide with the enzyme.

Perceptions of parenting as predictors of boys' sibling and peer relations.

This study included 71 target boys (8 to 10 years), their siblings, and mothers to examine the relations among mothering, fathering, sibling aggression, and peer outcomes. Siblings whose mothers were known to be more rejecting were observed and reported to be more aggressive with one another than siblings whose mothers were less rejecting. Moreover, boys who experienced more aggressive sibling interactions were more likely to be nominated by their peers as being aggressive and were less accepted by their peers.

Dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEAS) reduces adipocyte hyperplasia associated with feeding rats a high-fat diet.

Objective: To determine if chronic administration of a low level of dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEAS) (10 micrograms/ml drinking water) attenuates adiposity in male Osborne-Mendel rats fed low-fat (11% of kcals) vs high fat (46% of kcals) diets.

Design: Rats were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups for 6 wk in this 2 x 2 factorial study. The main effects tested were diet (low vs high fat) and DHEAS (- or +).

Age differences in the allocation of study time account for age differences in memory performance.

How aging affects the utilization of monitoring in the allocation of study time was investigated by having adults learn paired associates during multiple study-test trials. During each trial, a subject paced the presentation of individual items and later judged the likelihood of recalling each item on the upcoming test; after all items had been studied and judged, recall occurred. For both age groups in Study 1, (1) people's judgments were highly accurate at predicting recall and (2) intraindividual correlations between judgments (or recall) on one trial, and study times on the next trial were negative, which suggests that subjects utilized monitoring to allocate study time.

Russian medical care in the 1990s: a user's perspective.

This article examines medical utilization patterns and attitudes toward the medical care system among the citizens of Russia's second largest city, St. Petersburg. It focuses upon the extent to which both attitudes towards and usage of medical care institutions have changed in the immediate post-Soviet period.

Cardiac vagal tone indices of temperamental reactivity and behavioral regulation in young children.

The relation between two dimensions of vagal tone (Vna), indexed by a baseline measure of Vna and suppression of Vna and temperamental reactivity and behavioral regulation was investigated. Forty-one children were observed during a series of episodes designed to elicit temperamental reactivity and behavioral regulation. Heart rate was recorded during these baseline, positive, negative, and delay episodes, from which measures of vagal tone were computed.

Cyclin-dependent kinase activation and S-phase induction of the cyclin B1 gene are linked through the CCAAT elements.

Control of cell proliferation is dependent on the regulated expression of the cyclin genes. Induction of cyclin B1 gene expression in S phase has been shown to require sequences within the first 90 bp of the proximal promoter region. In this study, we defined the cell cycle regulatory elements within this region and explored the mechanism by which the cyclin B1 gene is activated.

Human lipoproteins as a vehicle for the delivery of beta-carotene and alpha-tocopherol to HepG2 cells.

Highly differentiated human cell lines represent a useful in vitro model for the study of carotenoid uptake, metabolism, and function. Carotenoids are usually introduced into tissue culture media either in organic solvents or as micelles, whereas carotenoids are localized in lipoproteins in vivo. Initially, the stability of beta-carotene and alpha-tocopherol in micelles and human lipoproteins under standard tissue culture conditions was compared.

Effects of acute administration of dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate on adipose tissue mass and cellularity in male rats.

Objective: To determine if short term (2 week) treatment of growing male rats with low levels of dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEAS) can reduce adiposity and serum triglycerides.

Design: Rats were administered either normal drinking water or drinking water supplemented with 10 (D10) or 100 (D100) micrograms/ml DHEAS for 14 d.

Subjects: Twenty-one male Sprague-Dawley rats (initial body weight 280 g).

Kinetics of conformational changes associated with potassium binding to and release from Na+/K(+)-ATPase.

The Na+/K(+)-ATPase functions in cells to couple energy from the hydrolysis of ATP to the transport Na+ out and K+ in. The fluorescent probe IAF (iodoacetamidofluorescein) covalently binds to this enzyme, reporting conformational changes without inhibiting enzyme activity. This paper describes experiments using dog kidney enzyme labeled with IAF to examine kinetics of conformational changes resulting from added Na+ and K+, measured in terms of steady-state and stopped-flow fluorescence changes.

Antibodies to glutamate, aspartate and glycyl-D-aspartate reversibly suppress stimulus-evoked, extracellularly recorded responses in slices of rat neocortex.

Polyclonal antibodies raised against glutamate, aspartate and the dipeptide, glycyl-D-aspartate were dissolved in artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) and administered at concentrations as low as 0.05% to slices of prefrontal cortex maintained in vitro. These antisera caused a reversible attenuation of evoked field potentials and/or single-unit activity recorded extracellularly following the delivery of shocks to the underlying white matter, or to cortical layer IV.

Beta-carotene and lutein protect HepG2 human liver cells against oxidant-induced damage.

Numerous epidemiological studies support a strong inverse relationship between consumption of carotenoid-rich fruits and vegetables and the incidence of some degenerative diseases. One proposed mechanism of protection by carotenoids centers on their putative antioxidant activity, although direct evidence in support of this contention is limited at the cellular level. The antioxidant potential of beta-carotene (BC) and lutein (LUT), carotenoids with or without provitamin A activity, respectively, was evaluated using the human liver cell line HepG2.

Expression of ceruloplasmin gene in human and rat lymphocytes.

The acute phase plasma protein ceruloplasmin (Cp) appears to play some role in host defense. The possibility that production of Cp in extrahepatic sites may also be essential for the activation, effector functions and cytoprotection of immune cells in localized environments has received minimal attention. Here, we have surveyed various types of human and rat immune cells for the presence of Cp mRNA using RT-PCR with primers that span exons 17-19 as an initial step in addressing this possibility.

Amino acids as the source of considerable excitation in cerebral cortex.

A number of different factors contributed to the rationale for providing a critical review of the field of excitatory amino acids in the cerebral cortex at this time. In addition to the recent growing realisation by clinicians that the excitatory amino acids are linked critically to a number of neurological conditions, including neurodegenerative syndromes such as Alzheimer's disease, cortical damage due to stroke and cerebral ischemia, epilepsy, amyotropic lateral sclerosis, and schizophrenia, the recent cloning and membrane reconstitution of specific receptors known as AMPA, NMDA, kainate, and metabotropic receptors and their known subunits have prompted a surge of renewed interest in this important family of synaptic transmitter molecules. Moreover, recent advances in our understanding of the molecular events involved in growth promotion in the early stages of the development of the cortex have shown that both NMDA and non-NMDA receptor subtypes perform important roles in certain aspects of target selection and neurite outgrowth, in cone stimulation and guidance, and in spine formation and morphological alterations.

Short-term changes in 10-km race pace aerobic demand and gait mechanics following a bout of high-intensity distance running.

Following treadmill accommodation and a 3-day period of tapered running, ten well-trained male distance runners [x maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) = 71.3 ml.kg-1.

Diversity in the rural poor: differences between households with and without telephones.

Differences between households with and without phones in the United States as a whole are well documented, but these differences, and their implications for nursing practice and research, have received little attention in nursing publications. This article 1) reviews findings from national studies of these differences and 2) reports on a nursing study that examined such differences specifically in a random sample (N = 2,053) of low-income families having children eligible for but not using the well-child services of the Medicaid program in rural North Carolina. The study was part of a randomized trial of nursing interventions to encourage parents to use these services.