Good news—Bad press: Applied psychophysiology in cardiovascular disorders

Dysregulation in blood pressure control can occur as a result of psychological stress in either the hypertensive or hypotensive direction. Applied psychophysiological techniques incorporating biofeedback and relaxation have been shown to be efficacious in controlled studies of hypertensive patients. Electromyograph, thermal, skin conductance and direct blood pressure feedback have been utilized alone or in combination with relaxation, blood pressure monitoring, and medication. Prediction models are proposed to define what type of hypertensive is most likely to respond with significant blood pressure decrease. Neurocardiogenic syncope is a cardiovascular disorder which manifests itself as lightheadedness, dizziness, syncope, and often migraine-type headache. Preliminary indications suggest that biofeedback-assisted relaxation may also prove beneficial to patients with this syndrome.This paper was presented as a presidential address at the 27th Annual Meeting of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, Albuquerque, NM, March, 1996. I wish to thank my present and past collaborators who contributed their thoughts and enthusiams to my program of research in applied psychophysiology of cardiovascular disorders. They are G. Argueta Bernal, Ph.D., Ilona Jurek, M.D., M. Woerner, M.Ed. R. Ph., J.T. Higgins, Jr., M.D., T. Fine, M.A. LPCC, S.W. Utz, RN, Ph.D., Gerard Roberts, M.D., Blair Grubb, M.D., Michael Weaver, RN, Ph.D.     

Aberrant breakpoints in chronic myelogenous leukaemia; oncogenes and fragile sites

Summary Three hundred and twenty-five aberrant breakpoints in chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) with Philadelphia chromosome variant were reviewed. Eight chromosomal bands (3p21, 6p21, 7p22, 11q13, 12p13, 17p13, 17q21, and 17q25) were found to be highly involved. Apart from 17q25, all these bands correspond to oncogenes sites and/or sites involved as primary breakpoints in cancer.This work was presented in part at the Congrès National d'Hématologie et de Transfusion Sanguine, March 1985 (Nouv Rev Fr Hématol, 1985, 27:72) and at the American Association for Cancer Research Meeting (Proceeding of the AACR 1986, 27:148)     

Cancer: the chromatin connection

The American Association for Cancer Research's 93rd Annual Meeting was held in San Francisco, California, USA, from 6 to 10 April 2002.     

World Picture, Anthropological Frame: DISTINGUISHED LECTURE—1976

This is the text of the seventh Distinguished Lecture of the American Anthropological Association, presented at its 75th Anniversary Meeting in Washington, D.C., November 1976. The Lectureship was established in 1969 to honor outstanding scholars in the profession and the lecture is now published each year in the American Anthropologist. Adams is an archaeologist and comparative anthropologist whose research interests have centered on the ecologically oriented study of prehistoric patterns of land use, settlement, and urbanization. His fieldwork has been in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq. He has served on the faculty of the University of Chicago since 1955, receiving his Ph.D. there in 1956. Besides appointments in the departments of Anthropology and Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, he has been Director of the Oriental Institute and Dean of the Division of Social Sciences at Chicago. He was Chairman of the Division of Behavioral Sciences of the National Research Council and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Adams' major publications include City Invincible (coeditor, 1960), Land Behind Baghdad (1965), The Evolution of Urban Society (1966, the Lewis Henry Morgan Lectures), and The Uruk Countryside (1972, with Hans J. Nissen).     

A study of change and depression among Havik Brahmin women in a South Indian Village

The author has gathered data from Havik Brahmin women on depression. Cultural factors predisposing to depression are especially salient to this analysis. Beck's triad of negative self image, negative interpretation of life events, and negative view of the future is regarded as the cultural ideal for older women. With cultural changes including an increased marriage age, increased educational level, and increased decision-making for women Beck's triad is no longer culturally sanctioned. Although these cultural changes are recent and the sample is too small for a statistical analysis, the article concludes that there is a possible association between depression and cultural factors such as early marriage. Additional possible associations with depression reviewed in this paper are separation from important people. support systems, loss of parent at an early age, poor marital relationship, and the perception of helplessness.I am grateful to Dan Blazer, M.D., Ph.D. for his many helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper. His expertise in epidemiology and depression and his interest contributed significantly to this paper. I appreciate the comments of Robert E. Roberts, Ph.D., for emphasizing both cultural and epidemiological factors. I thank Margaret Dorfman, M.D., for her assistance as a clinical expert in evaluating major depressive episodes. I thank Lauren W. Jackson for her editorial assistance. Judit Katona-Apte, Ph.D., contributed valuable editorial and epidemiological comments, as well as her encouragement as a friend. Eileen Basker, Ph.D.. contributed valuable editorial comments and her expertise as a medical anthropologist.Acknowledgments: Research in Totagadde was conducted in 1964–1966 and in 1974–1975 under the auspices of the American Institute of Indian Studies. In 1984, I returned for a six week preliminary study of depression and in 1985, I returned under the auspices of the American Philosophical Society.     

Epigenetics is alive and growing

The conference 'Epigenetics of Cancer,' organized by the American Association for Cancer Research, was held 17-21 October 2001 in Palm Desert, CA.     

Direct physical formation of anatomical structures by cell traction forces. An interview with Albert Harris by Lev Beloussov

Albert Harris was educated at The Norfolk Academy, Norfolk, Virginia, USA (1961). He then earned a Batchelor of Arts Degree in Biology from Swarthmore College, in Pennsylvania, USA (1965), followed by a Ph.D. in Biology (1971) from Yale University, where his Dissertation Advisor was the great John Phillip Trinkaus. He held a Damon-Runyon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cancer Research in 1970-72, under Michael Abercrombie, FRS, at the Strangeways Research Laboratory of Cambridge University, England. Then he accepted a position as Assistant Professor in the Zoology Department of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C. USA. In 1977, he was promoted to Associate Professor of Zoology, and in 1983 was promoted to Full Professor of Biology. In Oct.-Nov. 1991 he was honored to be Distinguished Visiting Professor of Zoology at the University of California at Davis.     

Study of markers of human erythroid differentiation in hybrid cells

Summary Somatic cell hybrids exhibiting co-expression of the globin genes of two species were generated by fusion of mouse erythroleukemia cells with Chinese hamster or human marrow erythroid cells. In contrast, extinction of the mouse globin genes occurred in hybrids formed between the erythroleukemia cells and human fibroblasts. Direct detection of the human globin genes in human X mouse fibroblast hybrids was achieved by annealing of DNA from these cells to human globin complementary DNA. This method was developed to permit the chromosomal assignment of the human globin genes. Presented in the formal symposium on Somatic Cell Genetics at the 27th Annual Meeting of the Tissue Culture Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 7–10, 1976. Some of this work was conducted during the tenure of a National Research Fellowship 1 F32 AM05080-01 held by A.D.     

Q & A. [interview

Elaine and Gary Ostrander spent their youth in New Jersey and New York before heading to Nebraska for their teen years and eventually Washington State for High School and college, as their father moved around in library administration. Elaine was an undergraduate at the University of Washington, a graduate student at the Oregon Health Sciences University and a postdoc with James Wang at Harvard, studying DNA supercoiling. She next went to Berkeley, where she began the canine genome project, initiating the meiotic linkage map and working on human chromosome 21 at the Lawrence Berkeley National Labs. In 1993 she moved to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center where she is now a Member of the Divisions of Clinical Research and Human Biology. She is also an Affiliate Professor of Genome Sciences and Biology at the University of Washington, and heads the Program in Genetics at the Hutchinson Center. Gary completed his undergraduate degree in Biology at Seattle University, a M.S. degree at Illinois State University and a Ph.D at the University of Washington in Ocean and Fisheries Science. He went on to be a postdoc in the Department of Pathology at the University of Washington Medical School while being mentored by Senitroh Hakomori of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Eric Holmes of the Pacific Northwest Research Foundation. His work focused on using novel aspects of the biology of fishes to address fundamental questions about cancer. He subsequently held both faculty and administrative positions at Oklahoma State University. Since 1996, he has been at the Johns Hopkins University, where he currently holds academic appointments in the Departments of Biology and Comparative Medicine and is the Associate Provost for Research.     

Identification of estrogen-inducible growth factors (estromedins) for rat and human mammary tumor cells in culture

Summary The role of polypeptide growth factors (estromedins) as mediators of estrogen-responsive mammary tumor growth is studied in this report. Three possible new mechanisms were investigated that include endocrine, autocrine, and paracrine related growth factors. The first hypothesis being tested is whether estrogens interact with target tissues and cause the biosynthesis and secretion of polypeptide growth factors, which then act as mitogens for normal and neoplastic mammary tissues. Data presented suggest that this mechanism involves estrogen interaction with uterus, kidney, and pituitary gland causing production of growth factors, which then enter the general circulation and promote growth of distant target tissues. This is an endocrine type mechanism. Another type of estromedin control (autocrine control) may be exerted in an autostimulatory way in which the target tissue produces the polypeptide factors for its own growth in response to estrogen stimulation. A variation of the autocrine mechanism may be a paracrine mechanism in which some cells of an estrogen-responsive normal or neoplastic tissue produce growth factors that act on adjacent or neighboring cells. From the data available, all three possible types of growth factors could be functioning synergistically to yield the final result of continuous estrogen responsive tumor growth in vivo. Presented in the symposium on Plant and Animal Physiology in Vitro at the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Tissue Culture Association, San Diego, California, June 6–10, 1982. This work was supported by American Cancer Society Grant BC-255; D. A. S. is the recipient of an American Cancer Society Faculty Research Award, FRA-212. D. D. is supported by a Rosalie B. Hite predoctoral fellowship from the Rosalie B. Hite Foundation, Houston, Texas. This symposium was supported in part by the following organizations: Bellco Glass, Inc., California Branch of the Tissue Culture Association, Collaborative Research, Hana Media, Hybridtech, K C Biological, Inc., and Millipore Corporation.     

Skin color in the squids Loligo pealii and Loligo opalescens

Summary Rapid, physiological color changes seen in the skin of cephalopods are due to a unique anatomical system composed of chromatophore organs and iridophores. The morphology and ultrastructure of the chromatophores was studied in the squids Loligo pealii Lesueur and Loligo opalescens Berry. A three-dimensional model of a brown chromatophore was reconstructed from serial sections for the electron microscope.The chromatophore organ is composed of a central nucleated pigment cell, 10–30 obliquely striated muscle cells (radially arranged on the equator of the pigment cell), axons, Schwann cells, and sheath cells. The pigment cell consists of a central aggregation of pigment granules and surrounding peripheral cytoplasmic compartments. These regions are incompletely separated by an electron-dense, sac-like structure, the pigment container. Proximal portions of a muscle cell contact the pigment cell in regions called myo-chromatophore junctions. Neuromuscular and myo-muscular junctions are also present.The results presented are discussed in terms of previous morphological and physiological studies of chromatophores.Part of a study submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Ph. D. (Anatomy), the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences, New York Medical College, New York, N.Y. 10029.The research reported here was in part supported by grants from the Health Research Council of the City of New York (U-1008) and United States Public Health Service, General Research Grant No. FR-05398.Report on some of this material was given at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Anatomists, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 19–22, 1971.     

Characteristics of rat normal mammary epithelial cells and dimethylbenzanthracene-induced mammary adenocarcinoma cells grown in monolayer culture

Summary The characteristics of normal mammary epithelial and 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced adenocarcinoma cells derived from rats and grown in monolayer culture were compared. Normal mammary epithelial cells exhibited different morphology and agglutinability by plant lectins, slower growth rate, and lower saturation density and cloning efficiency. In addition, the normal cells were sensitive to the toxic effect of DMBA, and were unable to grow in soft agar or to form tumors, when inoculated into newborn Sparague-Dawley rats. The converse was true in each case for the adenocarcinoma cells. Supported by Public Health Service Research Grant CA 01237603 from the National Cancer Institute Portions of this paper were presented at the 65th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research at Houston, Texas, 1974.     

AACR Annual Meeting 2008: autophagy in the forefront of cancer research

The 2008 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting was held in San Diego, CA, April 12-16, 2008 (http:// www.aacr.org/home/scientists/meetings--workshops/annual-meeting-2008.aspx). More than 17,000 scientists from 60 countries participated in this meeting that was organized by AACR, the oldest and largest organization in the world focused on cancer research. The scientific presentations included more than 6,000 abstracts and 500 invited talks on new and significant discoveries in basic, clinical, and translational cancer research. Autophagy, as pertaining to tumorigenesis and response to anticancer therapies, was undoubtedly a "hot topic" in this meeting. An educational session, a forum, a minisymposium and several other talks dispersed in different sessions had a strong focus on autophagy. All autophagy-related presentations were very well attended and stimulated lively discussions, clearly indicating that the scientific community is greatly interested in this rapidly-progressing area of research.     

AACR-ISREC joint symposium ‘Cancer and the cell cycle’ January 17–20, 1996, Laussnne,Switzerland

It has become apparent in the recent years that defects in regulatory systems of the eukaryotic cell cycle contribute, in a major way, to the evolution of a neoplastic phenotype in mammalian cells. The American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) and the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC) jointly organized a meeting, held last January in Lausanne/Switzerland, to discuss recent results in cell cycle research and their implications for cancer.     

Social network size in humans

This paper examines social network size in contemporary Western society based on the exchange of Christmas cards. Maximum network size averaged 153.5 individuals, with a mean network size of 124.9 for those individuals explicitly contacted; these values are remarkably close to the group size of 150 predicted for humans on the basis of the size of their neocortex. Age, household type, and the relationship to the individual influence network structure, although the proportion of kin remained relatively constant at around 21%. Frequency of contact between network members was primarily determined by two classes of variable: passive factors (distance, work colleague, overseas) and active factors (emotional closeness, genetic relatedness). Controlling for the influence of passive factors on contact rates allowed the hierarchical structure of human social groups to be delimited. These findings suggest that there may be cognitive constraints on network size. This project was funded by a grant from Hewlett Packard Research Laboratories (Bristol) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The support of the ESRC is gratefully acknowledged. This work was part of the programme of the ESRC Research Centre for Economic Learning and Social Evolution (ELSE). Russell Hill (B.Sc., M.Phil, Ph.D.) is an Addison Wheeler Research Fellow at the University of Durham. His main research interests are in the evolution of mammalian social systems. Robin Dunbar (B.A., Ph.D.) is a professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Liverpool. His research interests span mammalian behavioral ecology, including humans, cognitive mechanisms, and Darwinian psychology.     

Preface to Changes and disturbance in tropical rainforest in South-East Asia. A Discussion Meeting held at the Royal Society on 20 and 21 January 1999

Preface to Changes and disturbance in tropical rainforest in South-East Asia. A Discussion Meeting held at The Royal Society on 20 and 21 January 1999. Organized and edited by D. M. Newbery, T. H. Clutton-Brock and G. T. Prance.     

An interview with Dr. Zbigniew Darzynkiewicz on his highly cited paper published in Cell Cycle

Zbigniew Darzynkiewicz is the Director of the Brander Cancer Research Institute and Professor of Pathology and Medicine at the New York Medical College. He received his M.D. (with the highest honors) and Ph.D. degrees from the Medical University of Warsaw in Warsaw, Poland and completed post-graduate studies at the State University of New York at Buffalo and at the Medical Nobel Institute of Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. His research is focused on the regulatory mechanisms associated with cell proliferation, apoptosis and sensitivity to anti-tumor drugs. He published over 550 original articles in peer-reviewed journals, over 100 chapters and reviews, authored/edited 12 books and holds 7 US patents. His publications were cited over 23,000 times and 79 of them have over 79 citations each, which ranks him at number 79 in Hirsch’s impact “h-index.”     

The effects of dexamethasone on metabolic activity of hepatocytes in primary monolayer culture

Summary The effects of dexamethasone on multiple metabolic functions of adult rat hepatocytes in monolayer culture were studied. Adult rat liver parenchymal cells were isolated by collagenase perfusion and cultured as a primary monolayer in HI/WO/BA, a serum free, completely defined, synthetic culture medium. Cells inoculated into the culture medium formed a monolayer within 24 hr. Electron microscopy showed that the cells in primary culture had a fine structure identical to liver parenchymal cells in vivo, including the observation of desmosomes and bile canaliculi in intercellular space. There was significant gluconeogenesis by the cell 24 hr postinoculation but it had decreased markedly by 48 hr. There was a marked induction of tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT) by dexamethasone, which was maintained for up to 72 hr postinoculation of cells. The transport of α-aminoisobutyric acid into the cells in monolayer culture was stimulated by dexamethasone and was dependent on the concentration of dexamethasone. Albumin synthesis and secretion by the cells was measured by a quantitative electroimmunoassay. Albumin production was shown to increase linearly over an incubation period of 24 to 48 hr postinoculation. Dexamethasone depressed the albumin synthesis. The effects of dexamethasone are slow, and at times require more than 6 hr to show variation from the control, indicating that dexamethasone is not a single controlling hormone. Possibly it functions in a cooperative and coordinating role in the regulation of cell metabolism. This work was performed during Dr. Yamada's tenure as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow of the American Heart Association, Oklahoma Affiliate, and was supported in part by NIH Research Grant HL 18178 awarded to Thomas F. Whayne, Jr., M.D., Ph.D.     

Relative digit lengths predict men’s behavior and attractiveness during social interactions with women

Recent evidence suggests that the ratio of the lengths of the second and fourth fingers (2D:4D) may reflect degree of prenatal androgen exposure in humans. In the present study, we tested the hypotheses that 2D:4D would be associated with ratings of men’s attractiveness and with levels of behavioral displays during social interactions with potential mates. Our results confirm that male 2D:4D was significantly negatively correlated with women’s ratings of men’s physical attractiveness and levels of courtship-like behavior during a brief conversation. These findings provide novel evidence for the organizational effects of hormones on human male attractiveness and social behavior. This work was supported by a Hind’s Fund Research Grant from the Committee on Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago to J.R.R. and by NIH grants R01-MH62577 and K02-MH63097 to D.M. James Roney, Ph.D., is now an assistant professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research interests are in human evolutionary psychology and behavioral endocrinology. Dario Maestripieri, Ph.D., is an associate professor of Human Development at the University of Chicago. He has broad research interests in behavior, development, and evolution.     

REVIEWS

Books Review in this article:
Forest Trees and Timbers of the British Empire. Part I. Some East African Coniferae and Leguminosae. By L. C halk , M.A., D.Phil., J. B urtt D avy , M.A., Ph.D. and H. E. D esch , B.SC.
Part II. Twenty West African Timber Trees. By L. C halk , M.A., D.Phil., J. B urtt D avy , M.A., Ph.D., H. E. D esch , B.SC, M.A. and A. C. H oyle , B.Sc, M.A.
Part III. Fifteen South African High Forest Timber Trees. By L. C halk , M.A., D.Phil., M. M. C hattaway , B.SC, M.A., J. B urtt D avy , M.A., Ph.D., F. S. L aughton , B.SC. and M. H. S cott , B.SC.
Colloids in Agriculture. By C. E. M arshall .
Flore Laurentienne. By F rère M arie -V ictorin , D.SC.
Plant Viruses. By K enneth M. S mith .
Plant Life: A Text-book of Botany. By D. B. S wingle .
Gardening in East Africa: A Practical Handbook. Edited by A. J. J ex -B lake , with a foreword by Sir A rthur W. H ill .
British Stem- and Leaf-Fungi (Coelomycetes). Vol. I. Sphaeropsidales. By W. B. G rove , M.A.