bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Antibodies to Sperm in Benign and Malignant Diseases of the Prostate in Man: Incidence, Disease‐Associated Specificity, and Implications
Authors: ABLIN RICHARD J. , KULIKAUSKAS VYTAS , GONDER MAURICE J.
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: Initial investigation demonstrated antibodies to sperm (ASA) in patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa). The occurrence of ASA under a variety of normal and pathological circumstances indicated the need for confirmation and extension, including delineation of their possible disease‐associated specificity and implications. As countercurrent Immunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) employing sonicated allogeneic sperm (Sp) extracts appeared most efficient from initial studies of ASA, CIEP was employed for the present further study of 200 serum specimens from patients with and without prostatic disease. While ubiquitous, the continuing presence of ASA in BPH and PCa, with a combined incidence in this study of 57(52%) of 109 vs. 9 (10%) of 91 in the absence of prostatic disease remains provocative in view of the hypothesized role of Sp in the development of BPH and PCa. The presence, however, of ASA in patients with genitourinary neoplasms other, than prostate, raises doubt as to their disease specificity. Implications of ASA, other than in their more commonly related role in infertility, including their cross‐reactivity with foetal antigens and lymphocytes and higher incidence in association with tumours and the presence of tumour‐associated immunity are considered. However, pending further investigation, the present data may most appropriately be viewed as being reflective of a host response (marker?) to aberrant genitourinary cellular alterations.
Trophoblast Antigens in Human Seminal Plasma
Authors: KAJINO TORU , TORRY DONALD S. , McINTYRE JOHN A. , FAULK W. PAGE
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: Secondary recurrent spontaneous (2°) aborters manifest persistent IgG, which show differential cytotoxicity patterns with lymphocytes from many donors. These are non‐HLA‐directed antibodies, which react allotypically with both trophoblast and lymphocytes. The antigens they recognize are designated trophoblast‐lymphocyte crossreactive (TLX) antigens. Xenogeneic anti‐TLX sera were studied with the use of enzyme‐linked‐immunosorbent (ELISA) and immunochemical assays to determine the TLX status of seminal plasma. The results showed 1) allotypic TLX antigens are present in seminal plasma; 2) seminal plasma TLX antigens may be membrane associated; 3) by immuno‐blotting, the molecular weights of antigens reactive with TLX antisera are 15, 22, 28, 33 kD and a smear between 180 and 340 kd; 4) by isoelectric focusing, TLX antigens show pI 4.0, 5.35, 5.9, 6.5, 6.8, and 7.2. Allotypic seminal plasma TLX antigens may provide the antigenic stimuli for persistent maternal humoral immunity.
Documentation of IgA1 and IgA2 Antisperm Antibodies Within Seminal Fluid
Authors: BRONSON RICHARD A. , COOPER GEORGE W.
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: Antisperm antibodies of the IgA class, when bound to sperm, impair the sperm's ability to penetrate cervical mucus. IgA proteases offer a potential treatment of autoimmunity to spermatozoa in infertile men by enzymatically degrading immunoglobulins on the sperm surface. As IgA1 but not IgA2 is cleaved by IgA proteases, we determined through use of IgA subclass‐specific monoclonal antibodies the presence and relative proportions of antisperm IgA1 and IgA2 in seminal fluid. This ratio varies substantially between men, perhaps reflecting differences in the etiology of autoimmunity to sperm.
Actions of Steroids and Prostaglandins Secreted by the Placenta and Uterus of the Cow and Ewe on Lymphocyte Proliferation In Vitro
Authors: LOW B.G. , HANSEN P.J.
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: Prostaglandins, steroids, and their metabolites that are known to be produced by the conceptus, maternal endometrium, and placenta of the cow and sheep were tested for their ability to inhibit in vitro blastogenesis of bovine and ovine lymphocytes. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) suppressed PHA‐ and mixed lymphocyte reaction‐induced blastogenesis in a log‐linear, concentration‐dependent manner, exerting its inhibitory effect at a final concentration of 10−8 M and higher. PGE2 also inhibited IL‐2 ‐dependent proliferation of lymphocytes, but to a lesser degree than for PHA‐treated cultures. Progesterone and estradiol‐17β also inhibited [3H] thymidine incorporation into PHA‐stim‐ulated lymphocytes, but only at a pharmacological concentration of 10−5 M. No synergy between PGE2and progesterone in inhibiting lymphocyte proliferation was observed. Estrone, PGF2α, 15‐keto‐13,14‐dihydro‐PGF2α, and two metabolites of progesterone (5β‐preg‐nane‐3,20‐dione and 5β‐pregnane‐3,20‐diol) had no effect on lymphocyte proliferation. By virtue of its continual production at the fetal‐maternal interface throughout pregnancy, PGE2 may be an important local immunoregulatory agent to protect the allogeneic fetus from maternal immunological attack in the cow and ewe.
Suicide and Infantile Fixations
Authors: Richman Joseph
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: Infantile fixations upon primary parental figures and relationships is one of several features central to the suicidal situation. The association of infantile fixations to suicidal behavior relates not only to their presence or degree but to their traumatic quality and to the occurrence of patterns of relationship with others who are similarly fixated. Other significant features of such infantile fixations are their rigid and repetitive character. Case illustrations highlight both the infantile fixation phenomenon and efforts to change by forming new or different attachments, and the conflict between the two. Lastly, implications for psychotherapy include the needs to reduce anxiety and self hatred associated with infantile ties; to provide a temporary regression as a first step towards transformation of fixation and mastery; and to accept, rather than to attack, the suicidal patient's infantile attachments and patterns.
The Frequency of Suicides around Major Public Holidays: Some Surprising Findings
Authors: Phillips David P. , Liu Judith
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: This paper analyses the recorded number of U.S. daily suicides, 1972–1976. The paper shows that: there is a dip in suicides on and just before major public holidays; there is a peak in suicides just after these holidays; and, the dip in suicides is somewhat larger than the peak—hence, there is a net decrease in suicides around the holidays. On balance, the holidays appear to reduce the number of suicides, not increase them, as was previously believed. In addition, previous research has focussed on the negative psychological impact of holidays. Our findings indicate that holidays have a positive component, which should be taken into account in future research.
Death in Jonestown: Techniques of Political Control by a Paranoid Leader
Authors: Lasaga Jose I.
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: Jim Jones and Jonestown are discussed from a “political control” point of view. Seven basic techniques of political control are identified: Control of property and income, weaking of family ties, a sociopolitical caste system, control of egression (escape), control of verbal expression, cognitive control and emotional control. Jonestown is identified as a mini‐totalitarian state ruled by a delusional and paranoid person.
Resistances Encountered in Starting a Group Therapy Program for Suicide Attempters in Varied Administrative Settings
Authors: Hackel Jacqueline , Asimos Chrisula T.
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: This paper reports a number of areas of difficulty—funding issues, managment and personal bias issues, theoretical issues—which emerged in the development of five treatment groups comprised entirely of depressed and suicidal patients. These groups reflected a coordinated effort between the city‐county mental health system and the specific funding agencies. Strategies for overcoming these difficulties are discussed.
A Possible Classification of Suicidal Acts Based on Murray's Need System
Authors: Shneidman Edwin S.
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: Recently, Baechler (in his book Suicides) stated that the central question for suicidological investigation was: “What kind of people seek what solutions to what problems by means of suicide?” It can be argued that the principal problems of human beings relate to the frustration of their satisfaction of a variety of psychological needs. Thus, a full accounting of human needs might furnish a psychologically meaningful basis for a better understanding of suicidal events. Happily, such an explication already exists (in Henry Murray's Explorations in Personality). A classification of suicidal acts based on Murray's need system is proposed. A brief example is given.
Bereavement Group for Parents Who Suffered a Suicidal Loss of a Child
Authors: Hatton Corrine L. , Valente Sharon McBride
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: This paper describes a supportive group therapy experience for parents who sought relief from the painful grief experienced after the suicide of their child. Parents who felt overwhelmed by feelings of shame, guilt, self‐doubt, confusion and isolation found some relief in the universality of their grief and felt accepted and understood. Within three months, they were able to take this experience into their larger social network and felt more integrated.
Female Labor Force Participation, Status Integration and Suicide, 1950–1969
Authors: Davis Richard A.
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: Using Census data covering the 29 year period starting in 1950 this, study tests the hypothesis that (1) female labor force participation may result in more married women committing suicide due to the strain of household and outside working responsibilities and that (2) female labor force participation may also be associated with higher rates of male suicide due to the fact that it represents apparent failure of the husband as sole breadwinner (Stack, 1978). Results show that during the 1950's male suicide was not associated with growth in the female labor force, but female suicide was. During the 1960s male suicide was negatively associated with female labor force participation, but the opposite was true for females. It is argued that working women represented a weakening of norms concerning sex roles. Apparently as more and more women entered the labor force, role conflict did ensue, but contrary to the above hypothesis it only increased female suicide potential. These results are discussed in terms of different normative sex role contexts of the 1950s and the 1960s.
Perceived Peer and Family Relationships, Hopelessness and Locus of Control as Factors in Adolescent Suicide Attempts
Authors: Reznikoff Phyllis Topol Marvin
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: Thirty hospitalized suicidal adolescents were compared with thirty‐four hospitalized nonsuicidal teenagers and thirty‐five nonhospitalized coping youngsters (controls) on the extent of their problems, their perceptions of peer and family relationships, degree of hopelessness, and locus of control. Suicidals were found to experience the greatest total number of problems, nonsuicidals the next most, and controls the fewest. Significantly more peer problems differentiated the suicidals from the other two groups, while serious family problems discriminated the three groups from each other. The controls viewed their families as the most well‐adjusted, followed by the nonsuicidals, while the suicidals felt their families were the most maladjusted. Suicide attempters experienced a significantly greater degree of hopelessness than all the nonattempters, and significantly more external locus of control than the controls. Some sex differences emerged in the study.
Rational Suicide: An Impoverished Self‐Transformation
Authors: Maris Ronald
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT:The normal human condition is such that even with the best that life can offer suicide is understandable. Life is short, often painful, unpredictable, and lonely. In addition the lives of some individuals are in effect “suicidal careers” in that the harshness of normal life is combined for them with extra suicidal catalysts. Suicide makes sense. Minimally suicide resolves the life problem for the suicide. At the same time suicide is an impoverished self‐transformation. Life, as trying and despairing as it can be, is still all we have. The suicide resolves the life problem by obliterating life itself, rather than by transforming self, history, and society. The suicide gives his or her life back inappropriately. In this sense no suicide is ever rational.
On Abolishing “Death”: An Etymological Note
Authors: Shneidman Edwin S.
Published: December 2015

The distinction is made between two uses of the word “death,” specifically, your death (the death of the other) and my death (the death of the self). It makes (logical, epistemological and phenomenological) sense for me to speak of your death, but not for me to speak of my death—inasmuch as, by reasonable definition, I cannot possibly ever experience my death. Dying is experienceable—although one can never be certain. The word death is a perfectly good word for the demise of the other; the word omega is suggested to allude to that non‐event (the cessation of the self) now routinely spoken of as “my death,”
Suicidal Women and Their Relationships with Husbands, Boyfriends, and Lovers
Authors: Stephens B. Joyce
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: This study describes the specific conflicts which suicidal women experience in their intimate relationships with men. Fifty women who had made suicide attempts were studied with a focus on the contributing role of their relationships with men to the genesis of the suicidal acts. Four major themes were found in the relationships: “smothering love”, infidelity, battering, and denial of affection. The women experienced these conflicts as major precipitants in their suicidal behaviors. Examples of the four themes are described and analyzed.
The Adolescent Suicide Problem
Authors: Maris Ronald
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: The suicide rate of young people in the United States rose 237 percent between 1960 and 1980. This paper addresses three related issues. First, is this change an epidemic or an artifact? Second, what is there about adolescence as a life‐stage in modern society that makes it stressful, even suicide producing? Finally, what are the distinctive traits of the lifestyles or careers of a random sample of young Chicago suicides?
Sex Difference Trends in Completed Suicide
Authors: McIntosh John L. , Jewell Barbara L.
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: The recent suicide literature increasingly has contained statements suggesting that the differences in completed suicide between the sexes are lessening. A compilation of official suicide data for 1933–1980 verifies such a trend from the 1950s through 1971. However, increased differences (as measured by the ratio of male to female rates) were consistently observed from 1971 to 1980. These trends were found for data for the nation, for whites and nonwhites, for numbers of suicides, for crude rates, and for age‐adjusted rates. Decreased sex differences were obtained for those 35–44, 45–54, 55–64, and for 65+ years of age, but increased sex differences were observed for those aged 15–24 and 25–34. Possible explanations for these findings are presented.
Incidence of Near‐Death Experiences Following Attempted Suicide
Authors: Greyson Bruce
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: Near‐death experiences (NDEs), profound subjective experiences occurring during a close brush with death and containing transcendental or mystical elements, have been reported to reduce suicidal ideation, despite their “romanticization” of death. Among 61 consecutive hospital admissions for attempted suicide, 16 patients (26.2%) reported NDEs precipitated by the attempt. NDEs were not significantly associated with any demographic factors. In light of the frequency of NDEs following attempted suicide, further studies are indicated in regard to the effect of those experiences on subsequent suicidal behavior.
Factorial Structure of the Suicide Intervention Response Inventory
Authors: Neimeyer Robert A. , Hartley Raymond E.
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: Previous research has reported the development and validation of the Suicide Intervention Response Inventory (SIRI), a self‐report instrument assessing a counselor's ability to select an appropriate response to the life‐threatening client. The present study examined whether the response skill measured by the instrument might be multidimensional, rather than unitary as previously assumed. Inventories completed by 457 paraprofessional counselors from five suicide and crisis intervention services throughout the United States were factor‐analyzed to yield their simple structure. Results suggested that the instrument is indeed multifactorial, with four component factors identified as Elaboration of the Complaint, Exploration of Suicidality, Involvement, and Reflection of Negative Feelings. The implications of these findings for training in crisis counseling and for the further psychometric development of the instrument are noted.
San Diego Suicide Study: Comparison of Gay to Straight Males
Authors: Rich Charles L. , Fowler Richard C. , Young Deborah , Blenkush Mary
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: Previous large studies of completed suicides have not considered sexual orientation in their data analyses. In this study, data from the known homosexual subpopulation (13 males, aged 21–42) in a series of 283 suicides were examined. They were compared with all other aged male suicides 21–42 (n = 106). Both groups showed considerable substance abuse plus a variety of other psychiatric diagnoses. Both also had a high frequency of relationship difficulties near the time of death. Gays who committed suicide did not have a history of more police trouble and were no more likely to be living alone than the comparison group. They did not have more prior suicide attempts or previous psychiatric treatment. We conclude that, among the factors examined here, there appears to be little difference between gay and heterosexual male suicides.
Suicide in America—Moving Up the Public Health Agenda
Authors: McGinnis J. Michael
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: Despite improvements in the health of Americans over the last 30 years, the problem of suicide, and its disturbing rise in the last three decades, remains a major American health riddle. Recognizing suicide as a public health concern is essential to discovering strategies to prevent suicide. Such strategies and prevention efforts must be multifaceted, incorporating a number of public health principles and approaches. These approaches include the refinement of epidemiological methods in the study of suicide; development of health education, information, and intervention programs dealing with suicide; and increased community awareness of and participation in all suicide prevention efforts.
Improving the Validity and Reliability of Medical‐Legal Certifications of Suicide
Authors: Jobes David A. , Berman Alan L. , Josselson Arnold R.
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT:On a very basic level, those who study suicide are either explicitly or implicitly concerned with the certification of suicide deaths by coroners and medical examiners. Although many authors have questioned the reliability and validity of officially reported rates, these statistics continue to be quoted as fact—a potentially problematic practice for researchers who seek accurate and true causative factors for suicidal behavior. In relation to this topic, this article provides an overview of the existing vital statistics registry system and describes and proposes innovations that could ultimately improve the quality of officially reported suicide statistics.
An Empirical Investigation of Shneidman's Formulations Regarding Suicide: Age and Sex
Authors: Leenaars Antoon A.
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: This study of suicide notes, concerning the demographic variables of age and sex, involved the deduction of 50 classifications (protocol sentences) that reflected important aspects of Shneidman's formulations with regard to suicide. Independent judges noted the incidence of contents corresponding to the protocol sentences in the notes left by 60 suicides—20 notes written by individuals (females and males) in each of the three categories of Young, Middle, and Late Adulthood. Age (notably in regard to Young Adults), but not sex, was found to be a critical discriminating variable on a number of specific classifications and clusters of these classifications (Perturbation, Relations, Cognitions Regarding Self, and Long‐Term Instability), although considerable similarities were also noted across the adult life span. Implications of the results are discussed.
Mental Disorders and Suicidal Intention
Authors: Litman Robert E.
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: This paper continues a previous report (Litman, 1984) in exploring the use of psychological autopsies to clarify intention in suicide; clinical experience is compared with courtroom experience. The certification of suicide requires a judgment that the deceased intended to use his or her own death to resolve his or her problems of living, as demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence. Now that suicide has been decriminalized, the issue of “sane or insane” in insurance contracts has probably become irrelevant. Mental disorders are important as part of the suicide constellation, as one element of many interacting factors. The capacity to have the intent to commit suicide—that is, to understand the physical nature of one's own death—is lost due to mental disorders only under special and unique circumstances.
The Sociological Study of Suicide: Methodological Issues
Authors: Stack Steven
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: This paper is a critical review of selected methodological issues in the sociological study of suicide. It first distinguishes between two broad research orientations: the micro and macro approaches to the subject. The paper then focuses on a critical assessment of the dominant macro‐level methodology. Three recurrent problems are identified: (1) measurement issues on four key variables (suicide and parasiticide, economic conditions, religion, and political conditions such as war); (2) problems in studying the effect of mass media stories on suicide; and (3) reasons why we need to adopt a cross‐national method in order to test sociological theories for contextual effects. Partial remedies to many of these problems are discussed.
Family Survivors of Suicide and Accidental Death: Consequences for Widows
Authors: McNiel Dale E. , Hatcher Chris , Reubin Richard
Published: December 2015

The impact of completed suicide on the surviving family was studied. Thirteen widows whose husbands had died through suicide were compared with 13 widows whose husbands had died in accidents. The widows' views of their families' functioning, and the extent of life stress and psychiatric symptoms experienced by the widows, were assessed. Interview data suggested more guilt and blaming in suicide survivor families. However, on standardized questionnaires, suicide survivors showed no more family dysfunction, life stress, or psychiatric symptomatology than accident survivors. Both groups acknowledged clinically significant levels of symptoms. The findings raise questions about the validity of generalizations based on the clinical literature regarding the uniquely pathogenic impact of suicide on family functioning.
Changing Age Patterns of U.S. Male and Female Suicide Rates, 1934–1983
Authors: Stafford Mark C. , Weisheit Ralph A.
Published: December 2015

Changes in the age patterns of U.S. male and female suicide rates from 1934 to 1983 are examined, using official suicide data. Among whites, the age patterns of male and female suicide rates have become less concordant since about 1960. In contrast, the age patterns of nonwhite male and female suicide rates have become more concordant since the mid‐1950s. A review of sociological theories of suicide identifies problems in accounting for such changes—problems stemming in part from what has been a theoretical emphasis on cross‐sectional relations.
A Prospective Investigation of Suicidal Ideation in College Students: A Test of a Model
Authors: Bonner Ronald L. , Rich Alexander R.
Published: December 2015

In order to test the predictive validity of a stress‐vulnerability model of suicide ideation and behavior, a longitudinal study was conducted with college undergraduates. Based on previous research (Bonner & Rich, 1987; Rich & Bonner, 1987a), measures of social/emotional alienation, adaptive resources for living, and cognitive rigidity were taken at the beginning of the semester and combined to develop a vulnerability score. Then, at midterm, measures of midterm stress and cumulative negative life stress were obtained from the same subjects. It was hypothesized that the vulnerability factor would interact with midterm and negative life stress to predict suicide ideation. Instead of an interactive model, a linear, compensatory model of suicide ideation was found. The combination of alienation, deficient adaptive resources, and life stress best predicted ideation scores. Implications for research and theory are noted.
Depression and Suicide in Schizophrenic Patients
Authors: Salama Aziz A.
Published: December 2015

This study supports the idea that schizophrenic patients represent a distinctive subgroup of patients who can suffer from a major depressive illness and also can commit suicide. The study showed that 22.4% of the schizophrenic population in a medium‐sized psychiatric facility showed severe depressive symptoms that met the criteria for the diagnosis of a major depressive episode according to the DSM‐III classification. Seven patients committed suicide during the acute phase of the illness—five during hospitalization, and two within a year of discharge. Nine patients attempted suicide during the hospitalization period, and 10 attempted suicide within a year of discharge. Nearly one‐third (215) of the patients were readmitted during that year because of a recurrence of acute schizophrenic symptoms; of these, 84 were having severe depressive symptoms. The study also provides indications of the causes of suicide in these patients.
Are Young Adults' Suicides Psychologically Different from Those of Other Adults? (The Shneidman Lecture)
Authors: Leenaars Antoon A.
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACT: This Shneidman Lecture addresses the question: Are young adults' suicides psychologically different from those of other adults? Eight clusters (or patterns) as possible predictors of suicide notes and, by implication, suicide are discussed to address this question. The eight clusters are as follows: unbearable psychological pain, interpersonal relations, rejection‐aggression, inability to adjust, indirect expressions, identification‐egression, ego, and cognitive constriction. Comparisons between young adults (aged 18–25) and other adults indicate that young adults' suicides do differ psychologically in a number of patterns, but that considerable commonalities exist across the adult life span. The presentation emphasizes that a life span developmental perspective is essential when one is attempting to understand the suicides of young adults. A number of genuine suicide notes of young adults are presented to illustrate, from an idiographic view, what it might have been like for these individuals in the last moments of their lives.
Imperfect Behavior‐Based Price Discrimination
Authors: Colombo Stefano
Published: December 2015

In this article, we develop a model encompassing behavior‐based discriminatory pricing as a limit case of a more general framework where firms have incomplete information about consumers’ purchase histories. We show that information accuracy has a nonmonotonic impact on profits and the worst situation for firms is when information accuracy is intermediate. We also discuss welfare and consumer surplus implications of information accuracy. Although welfare monotonically decreases with the level of information accuracy, there is an inverse U‐shape relationship between consumers surplus and information accuracy.
Host–plant relationships and natural enemies of the invasive mealybug, Rastrococcus iceryoides Green in Kenya and Tanzania
Authors: Tanga C. M. , Ekesi S. , Govender P. , Mohamed S. A.
Published: December 2015

The invasive mango mealybug, Rastrococcus iceryoides Green (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), believed to be native to southern Asia has rapidly invaded Kenya and Tanzania. A survey was carried out from February 2008 to July 2009 to study its geographical distribution, host–plant relationships and associated parasitoids in both countries. Our results infer that R. iceryoides is widely distributed across the coastal belts of both countries. Rastrococcus iceryoides was recorded from 29 cultivated and wild host plants from 16 families. Twenty‐one of these host plants are new records. Among the cultivated host plants, M. indica (407.68 ± 9.26/twig and 75.68 ± 7.13/leaf in Kibaha, and 595.86 ± 17.2/fruit in Kinondoni) and Cajanus cajan (L.) Millspaugh (18.15 ± 4.22/leaf and 233.62 ± 18.9/twig in Morogoro) recorded the highest levels of infestation. Parkinsonia aculeata (394.62 ± 11.7/twig, 0.15 ± 0.03/leaf and 8.44 ± 0.94/fruit in Kinango), Caesalpinia sepiaria Roxb. (3.33 ± 0.76/leaf and 155.81 ± 9.16/twig in Kinondoni) and Deinbollia borbonica Scheff. (2.70 ± 0.66/leaf and 112.65 ± 5.3/twig in Kibaha) were found to be the most heavily infested wild host plants. Six parasitoid species were recovered and are reported here for the first time to parasitize R. iceryoides. Anagyrus pseudococci Girault was the most dominant species accounting for 21% parasitism on M. indica and 20% parasitism on P. aculeata in Tanzania and Kenya, respectively. Despite this, the ability of the parasitoid to regulate the population of R. iceryoides was inadequate. Therefore, there is a need for foreign exploration and introduction of efficient coevolved natural enemies from its aboriginal home of southern Asia to minimize its impact on horticulture in Africa.
Spatial distribution of nominally herbivorous fishes across environmental gradients on Brazilian rocky reefs
Authors: Cordeiro C. A. M. M. , Mendes T. C. , Harborne A. R. , Ferreira C. E. L.
Published: December 2015

Assemblages of roving herbivores were consistently different between eastern, warmer, sheltered sites and western, colder, more wave‐exposed sites. At eastern sites, detritivorous‐herbivorous species dominated while omnivores had the highest biomass and were dominant at western sites. Macroalgivores did not show any trends related to location. These distributional patterns, at relatively small spatial scales of a few kilometres, mirror large‐scale latitudinal patterns observed for the studied species along the entire Brazilian coast, where cold water associated species are abundant on south‐eastern rocky reefs (analogous to the western sites of this study), and tropical species are dominant on north‐eastern coral reefs (analogous to the eastern sites). Species‐level analyses demonstrated that depth was an important factor correlated with biomasses of Diplodus argenteus, Sparisoma axillare and Sparisoma tuiupiranga, probably due to resource availability and interspecific competition. Herbivorous fish assemblages in the study area have been historically affected by fishing, and combined with the variation in assemblage structure, this is likely to have important, spatially variable effects on the dynamics of benthic communities.
The Plankogel detachment of the Eastern Alps: petrological evidence for an orogen‐scale extraction fault
Authors: Schorn S. , Stüwe K.
Published: December 2015

The so‐called Plankogel detachment is an east‐west trending, south‐dipping low‐angle structure that juxtaposes the high‐P rocks of the eclogite type locality of the eastern European Alps against amphibolite facies rocks to the south. It occurs in both the Saualpe and Koralpe Complex in eastern Austria. During Cretaceous intracontinental subduction, the footwall and the hangingwall units of the Plankogel detachment were buried to different crustal levels as inferred by pseudosection modelling and conventional thermobarometry: ~23–24 kbar and 640–690 °C for the eclogite facies units in the footwall of the detachment and ~12–14 kbar and 550–580 °C for the amphibolite facies metapelites in the hangingwall. Despite the different peak metamorphic conditions, both sides of the detachment display a common overprint at conditions of ~10 kbar and 580–650 °C. From this, we infer a two‐stage exhumation process and suggest that this two‐stage process is best interpreted tectonically in terms of slab extraction during Eoalpine subduction. The first stage of exhumation occurred due to the downward (southward) extraction of a lithospheric slab that was localized in the trace of the Plankogel detachment. The later stage, however, is attributed to more regional erosion‐ or extension‐driven processes. Since the Plankogel detachment is geometrically related to a crustal‐scale shear zone further north (the Plattengneiss shear zone), we suggest that both structures are part of the same extraction fault system along which the syn‐collisional exhumation of the Eoalpine high‐P units of the Eastern Alps occurred. The suggested model is consistent with both the mylonitic texture of the Plattengneiss shear zone and the overall ambiguous shear sense indicators present in the entire region.
Does Simulation‐Based Training Improve Procedural Skills of Beginners in Interventional Cardiology?—A Stratified Randomized Study
Authors: Voelker Wolfram , Petri Nils , Tönissen Christoph , Störk Stefan , Birkemeyer Ralf , Kaiser Erhard , Oberhoff Martin
Published: December 2015

Objective

To assess whether mentored simulation‐based‐training can improve the procedural skills of beginners in coronary interventional procedures.

Background

Simulation based‐catheter training is a valuable tool to practice interventional procedures. Whether this type of training enhances the procedural skills of fellows learning percutaneous coronary interventions has never been studied.

Methods

Eighteen cardiology fellows were randomized either into the simulation‐based training (n = 9) or the control group (n = 9). The simulation group received 7.5 hours of virtual reality (VR) simulation training, whereas the control group attended 4.5 hours of lectures. Each participant had to perform a simple (pre‐evaluation) and a more complex (post‐evaluation) catheter intervention on a pulsatile coronary flow model in a catheterization laboratory. All procedures were videotaped, analyzed, and rated by 3 expert interventionalists, who were blinded to the randomization. To assess the individual performance level, a “skills score” was determined, comprising 14 performance characteristics (5‐level Likert scale, maximum score of 70 points).

Results

The “skills score” increased by 5.8 ± 6.1 points in the VR simulation group and decreased by 6.7 ± 8.4 in the control group (P = 0.003) from the simple stenosis at pre‐ to the more complex lesion at post‐evaluation demonstrating the effectiveness of simulation‐based training.

Conclusion

This pilot study suggests that curriculum‐based mentored VR simulation training improves the performance level of cardiology fellows in coronary interventions. Further investigation to evaluate the effect on clinical outcomes is warranted. (J Interven Cardiol 2016;29:75–82)
Massive intracellular gene transfer during plastid genome reduction in nongreen Orobanchaceae
Authors: Cusimano Natalie , Wicke Susann
Published: December 2015

Plastid genomes (plastomes) of nonphotosynthetic plants experience extensive gene losses and an acceleration of molecular evolutionary rates. Here, we inferred the mechanisms and timing of reductive genome evolution under relaxed selection in the broomrape family (Orobanchaceae).

We analyzed the plastomes of several parasites with a major focus on the genus Orobanche using genome‐descriptive and Bayesian phylogenetic‐comparative methods. Besides this, we scanned the parasites’ other cellular genomes to trace the fate of all genes that were purged from their plastomes.

Our analyses indicate that the first functional gene losses occurred within 10 Myr of the transition to obligate parasitism in Orobanchaceae, and that the physical plastome reduction proceeds by small deletions that accumulate over time. Evolutionary rate shifts coincide with the genomic reduction process in broomrapes, suggesting that the shift of selectional constraints away from photosynthesis to other molecular processes alters the plastid rate equilibrium. Most of the photosynthesis‐related genes or fragments of genes lost from the plastomes of broomrapes have survived in their nuclear or mitochondrial genomes as the results of multiple intracellular transfers and subsequent fragmentation.

Our findings indicate that nonessential DNA is eliminated much faster in the plastomes of nonphotosynthetic parasites than in their other cellular genomes.
Alpha‐2 adrenoceptor agonists as adjuncts to peripheral nerve blocks in children: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Lundblad Märit , Trifa Mehdi , Kaabachi Olfa , Ben Khalifa Sonia , Fekih Hassen Amjed , Engelhardt Thomas , Eksborg Staffan , Lönnqvist Per‐Arne
Published: December 2015

Background

Adult meta‐analyses have verified that adjunct use of alpha‐2 adrenoceptor agonists (A2AA) together with local anesthetics (LA) will prolong the duration of peripheral nerve blocks. The standard use of A2AAs for peripheral nerve blockade has recently been recommended also in children, but the evidence base in support of this suggestion has to date been equivocal. The purpose of this meta‐analysis was to produce evidence‐based data regarding the effect in children.

Methods

Following a thorough literature search, five randomized controlled trials were included in a meta‐analysis. Raw data from all studies were gathered and aggregated into patients randomized to receive plain LA (Group PLA) or LA mixed with either adjunct clonidine or dexmedetomidine (Group ADJ). The main outcome parameter was block duration (time to first administration of supplemental analgesic based on predetermined pain scores) analyzed by survival statistics. The total number of supplemental analgesic doses during the first 24 postoperative hours and serious side effects were included as secondary outcomes.

Results

Pooling of the study data generated 141 patients in Group PLA and 142 patients in Group ADJ (overall n = 283; age: 0.8–13 years; weight 8–47 kg). Block duration was significantly prolonged (9.75 h vs 3.75 h) compared to the use of plain LA. Survival statistics verified a beneficial effect of using adjunct A2AAs [the log rank (Mantel–Cox) test (P = 0.0078), Gehan–Breslow–Wilcoxon test (P = 0.0027), and hazard ratio (1.653; 95% CI: 1.142 to 2.395)]. The number of patients that needed ≥2 doses of supplemental analgesics was higher in Group PLA (n = 19) compared to Group ADJ (n = 6) (P = 0.0088). No serious side effects were reported.

Conclusion

This meta‐analysis provides evidence‐based support for the use of adjunct alpha‐2 adrenoceptor agonists when performing peripheral nerve blocks in children.
Agreement between lower esophageal and nasopharyngeal temperatures in children ventilated with an endotracheal tube with leak
Authors: Snoek Aarjan P. , Saffer Emily
Published: December 2015

Background

A temperature probe placed in the lower third of the esophagus accurately reflects core temperature in anesthetized children. Temperature probes are commonly placed in the nasopharynx in children, but when utilizing an uncuffed endotracheal tube (ETT) with a softly audible leak, ventilated gases from the trachea can escape upwards toward the nasopharynx, thereby potentially causing a cooling effect in the nasopharynx.

Objectives

We sought to establish if nasopharyngeal and lower esophageal temperatures are in agreement in children undergoing general anesthesia, both in scenarios of ventilation with a cuffed ETT that has minimal or no leak (cuff up), as well as an ETT with leak (cuff down).

Methods

A prospective, crossover agreement study was performed on anesthetized children. Children were intubated with a MicroCuff® ETT and had temperature probes inserted into both the nasopharynx and lower esophagus. Under standardized ventilator and gas flow settings, temperatures were recorded with the ETT cuff inflated, and with the cuff deflated. Bland–Altman plots were utilized to assess agreement of temperatures.

Results

Fifty patients successfully completed this study. The mean difference between esophageal and nasopharyngeal temperature was found to be −0.03°C in the presence of minimal or no leak around the ETT (cuff up), with 95% limits of agreement (LOA) of −0.22 to 0.15°C. The mean difference between esophageal and nasopharyngeal temperature was found to be 0.1°C when a larger leak existed around the ETT (cuff down), with LOA of −0.31 to 0.51°C.

Conclusions

Nasopharyngeal temperature accurately reflects lower esophageal temperature when there is minimal or no ETT leak. When a larger ETT leak is present, nasopharyngeal temperature is on average 0.1°C cooler than lower esophageal temperature. As the nasopharyngeal temperature probe site confers the advantage of simplicity of accurate placement compared to its esophageal counterpart, our findings support the use of nasopharyngeal temperature probes in children ventilated with both cuffed and uncuffed ETTs.
Perceived barriers to medication adherence in pediatric and adolescent solid organ transplantation
Authors: Danziger‐Isakov Lara , Frazier Thomas W. , Worley Sarah , Williams Nikki , Shellmer Diana , Dharnidharka Vikas R. , Gupta Nitika A. , Ikle David , Sweet Stuart C. ,   the CTOTC‐05 Consortium
Published: December 2015

Comparisons of perceived barriers to adherence in pediatric and adolescent SOT have not been systematically conducted despite association between medication non‐adherence and poor outcome. Fifteen centers in CTOT‐C enrolled patients in a cross‐sectional study. Subjects' guardians completed the PMBS and subjects over eight completed the Adolescent Scale (AMBS). Association of three identified PMBS factors and subject age was assessed. Secondary analyses assessed associations between PMBS, AMBS, and patient demographics. Three hundred sixty‐eight subjects or their guardians completed PMBS or AMBS. A total of 107 subjects were 6–11 yr; 261 were ≥12. Unadjusted and propensity‐adjusted analyses indicated higher perceived barriers in guardians of adolescents as compared to guardians of pre‐adolescents medication scheduling and frustration domains regardless of organ (p < 0.05). PMBS and AMBS comparisons revealed that guardians reported fewer ingestion issues than patients (p = 0.018), and differences appeared more pronounced within younger responders for scheduling (p = 0.025) and frustration (p = 0.019). Screening revealed guardians of older patients report increased perceived barriers to adherence independent of socioeconomic status. Guardians of adolescents reported fewer perceived barriers to ingestion/side effects than patients themselves, particularly in pre‐adolescents (8–11 yr). Brief screening measures to assess perceived barriers should be further studied in adherence improvement programs.
Early use of orthographic information in spoken word recognition: Event‐related potential evidence from the Korean language
Authors: Kwon Youan , Choi Sungmook , Lee Yoonhyoung
Published: December 2015

This study examines whether orthographic information is used during prelexical processes in spoken word recognition by investigating ERPs during spoken word processing for Korean words. Differential effects due to orthographic syllable neighborhood size and sound‐to‐spelling consistency on P200 and N320 were evaluated by recording ERPs from 42 participants during a lexical decision task. The results indicate that P200 was smaller for words whose orthographic syllable neighbors are large in number rather than those that are small. In addition, a word with a large orthographic syllable neighborhood elicited a smaller N320 effect than a word with a small orthographic syllable neighborhood only when the word had inconsistent sound‐to‐spelling mapping. The results provide support for the assumption that orthographic information is used early during the prelexical spoken word recognition process.
THE ACTION OF PITUITARY EXTRACT ON URINARY SECRETION
Authors: Craig Nicholas S.
Published: December 2015

1. In anæsthetised animals, intravenous administration of pituitary extract produces a definite diuresis.

Continuous intravenous administration of pituitary extract in 0·9 per cent. saline solution produces the same result.

2. In unanæsthetised dogs, pituitary extract administered subcutaneously controls the diuresis which normally would result from the administration of water or normal saline solution by the mouth. If concentrated saline solution is used, diuresis results.

A diuresis produced by drinking 230 c.c. of 5 per cent. urea solution was prolonged, but its onset was not delayed, by the subcutaneous administration of pituitary extract.

3. Delay in the absorption of fluid from the alimentary tract, if it occurs after pituitary extract administration, is insufficient to account for a delay in the onset of the diuresis for three and a half hours.

4. A subcutaneous injection of pituitary extract controls a diuresis produced by the intravenous administration of 120 c.c. of Ringer solution at the rate of 4 c.c. per minute ; if, however, the intravenous administration is given at the rate of 12 c.c. per minute, no antidiuretic effect occurs.

5. The hæmoglobin percentage in human beings is not appreciably altered by the drinking of large quantities of water. If, however, the drinking of large quantities of water is immediately preceded by a subcutaneous injection of pituitary extract, a definite reduction in the hæmoglobin percentage occurs during the first two hours of the experiment.
THE ACTION OF PROGESTIN ON THE UTERUS OF THE CAT
Authors: Rowlands I. W. , McPhail M. K.
Published: December 2015

In the immature and also in the ovariectomised adult cat œstrone causes the development of the long, straight endometrial glands, possessing a distinct lumen, bordered by a columnar epithelium. Following the administration of progestin, these glands hypertrophy and become greatly twisted. At a later stage their mouths open, giving the mucosa the fringed appearance seen in normal pseudo‐pregnancy in the cat [Gros, 1933]. In the hypophysectomised cat the amount of progesterone required to evoke these changes appears to be somewhat greater than in the ovariectomised animal. Compared with the rabbit, the amount of œstrone required to sensitise the uterus to progestin is about seventy times as great.

Considerable alveolar development of the mammary glands simultaneously occurs in the ovariectomised cat, but no effect was noticed in the mammary gland of a hypophysectomised cat.

The authors wish to express their gratitude to Dr. A. S. Parkes, F.R.S., for his advice and interest in this work, and also to Dr. R. K. Callow for the crystalline progesterone. One of us (M. K. McP.) wishes to thank Sir Henry Dale, F.R.S., for the hospitality and facilities of the National Institute for Medical Research.
DYNAMIC VARIATION IN RESPONSE TO BARBITURATES
Authors: Clark A. J. , Raventós J.
Published: December 2015

1. There is a fairly high individual constancy as regards sensitivity to barbiturates; individuals which are narcosised by a median hypnotic dose are likely to show the same response when the test is repeated.

2. There is less individual constancy as regards the duration of narcosis produced by barbiturates. Such constancy can be demonstrated in groups of mice selected as regards sensitivity, but in unselected groups we could not demonstrate any constancy.

The expenses of this research were defrayed by a grant from Messrs. Imperial Chemical Industries (Dyestuffs Group), for which the authors express their thanks.

We also thank Dr. W. O. Kermack for his kind assistance in the mathematical analysis of the results.