Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Changes In Heart Rate Associated With Contest Outcome In Agonistic Encounters In Lobsters, Jesus Hernandez-Falcon, Alo Basu, Siddhartan Govindasamy, Edward Kravitz

Siddhartan Govindasamy

1. Agonistic contests between lobsters housed together in a confined space progress through encounters of increasing intensity until a dominance relationship is established. Once this relationship is established, losing animals continually retreat from the advances of winners. 2. These encounters are likely to consume much energy in both winning and losing animals. Therefore, one might expect involvement of many physiological systems before, during and after fights. Here, we report effects of agonistic encounters on cardiac frequency in winning and losing adult lobsters involved in dyadic interactions. 3. The results show that: (i) small but significant increases in heart rate are …

Eight Is Enough?: The Ethics Of The California Octuplets Case, Scott Paeth

Scott R. Paeth

The recent California octuplets case raises a number of important issues that need to be addressed in the context of the increasingly widespread practice of in vitro fertilization. This paper explores some of those issues as looked at from the perspective of protestant theological ethics and public theology, examining the moral responsibilities of the various participants in the process, both before and after the octuplets’ birth, including the mother, her doctors, the health care bureaucracy, the wider society, and the media. Each of these participants failed in significant respects to consider the ethical implications of the births in this complicated …

The Distinguishing Characteristics Of Narrative Identity In Adults With Features Of Borderline Personality Disorder: An Empirical Investigation, Jonathan Adler

Jonathan M. Adler

While identity disturbance has long been considered one of the defining features of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), the present study marks only the third empirical investigation to assess it and the first to do so from the perspective of research on narrative identity. Drawing on the rich tradition of studying narrative identity, the present study examined identity disturbance in a group of 40 mid-life adults, 20 with features of BPD and a matched sample of 20 without BPD. Extensive life story interviews were analyzed for a variety of narrative elements and the themes of agency, communion fulfillment (but not communion), …

Lumbar Vertebral Density And Mechanical Properties In Aged Ovariectomized Rats Treated With Estrogen And Norethindrone Or Norgestimate, Carla Vanin, Neil Maclusky, Debbie Chachra, Mehran Kasra, Marc Grynpas, Robert Casper

Debbie Chachra

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to investigate the effects of estrogen alone or combined with two different progestins, norethindrone or norgestimate, on bone density and compressive mechanical properties in an aged rat model.

STUDY DESIGN: Twenty 11-month-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were sham operated (intact control) and 80 wee overiectomized. Three groups of 20 ovariectomized rats were implanted with Silastic silicon rubber (Dow Corning, Midland, Mich.) capsules containing 5% estradiol (wt/wt) in cholesterol. All rats in the intact control (group 1) and the ovariectomized (group 2) and the first of the overiectomized plus estrogen (group 3) groups were injected subcutaneously daily …

The Effect Of Different Hormone Replacement Therapy Regimens On The Mechanical Properties Of Rat Vertebrae, Debbie Chachra, M. Kasra, Carla Vanin, N. Maclusky, R. Casper, Marc Grynpas

Debbie Chachra

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of estrogen replacement, in concert with three different progestin regimens, on the mechanical properties of rat lumbar vertebrae. Ninety-two Sprague-Dawley rats (11 months old) were divided into six groups for treatment. The first group was an intact control, the second group (OVX) was ovariectomized only, and the third group (estrogen-only) was ovariectomized and received continuous estrogen through a 17-estradiol implant. The remaining groups were ovariectomized and received estrogen and progestin (norethindrone, NET) therapy; 3 g of NET was injected daily (estrogen plus continuous NET), or 6 g of NET was …

Radiation Dose Distributions In Three Dimensions From Tomographic Optical Density Scanning Of Polymer Gels: Ii. Optical Properties Of The Bang Polymer Gel, Yevgeniya Zastavker, Marek Maryanski, John Gore

Yevgeniya V. Zastavker

A newly developed method of radiation dosimetry makes use of the optical properties of polymer gels. The dose-response mechanism relies on the production of light-scattering polymer micro-particles in the gel at each site of radiation absorption. The scattering produces an attenuation of transmitted light intensity that is directly related to the dose and independent of dose rate. For the BANG polymer gel (bis, acrylamide, nitrogen, and gelatin) the shape of the dose-response curve depends on the fraction of the cross-linking monomer in the initial mixture and on the wavelength of light. At 500 nm the attenuation coefficient (μ) increases by …

Allelic Deletion On Chromosome 17p13.3 In Early Ovarian Cancer, Nancy Phillips, Michelle Ziegler, Diane Radford, Keri Fair, Todd Steinbrueck, Francisco Xynos, Helen Donis-Keller

Helen Donis-Keller

Multiple chromosome 17 loci may be involved in ovarian carcinogenesis. Fifty-seven sporadic ovarian epithelial tumors were examined for loss of heterozygosity at 15 loci on chromosome 17p. Eighty % (39 of 49) of informative tumors had allelic loss in 17p13.3 at D17S30, D17S28, or both loci within this region, including 3 of 7 tumors of low malignant potential and 4 of 5 nonmetastatic carcinomas. The smallest region of overlapping deletion extends from D17S28 to D17S30, a distance of 15 kb. Furthermore, several tumors have breakpoints within the region detected by the D17S30 probe. Chromosome 17p13.3 genes with potential tumor suppressor …

The Long-Term Effects Of Water Fluoridation On The Human Skeleton, Debbie Chachra, H. Limeback, T. Willett, Marc Grynpas

Debbie Chachra

Municipal water fluoridation has notably reduced the incidence of dental caries and is widely considered a public health success. However, ingested fluoride is sequestered into bone, as well as teeth, and data on the long-term effect of exposure to these very low doses of fluoride remain inconclusive. Epidemiological studies suggest that effects of fluoride on bone are minimal. We hypothesized that the direct measurement of bone tissue from individuals residing in municipalities with and without fluoridated water would reveal a relationship between fluoride content and structural or mechanical properties of bone. However, consonant with the epidemiological data, only a weak …

Tensional Forces Influence Gene Expression And Sutural State Of Rat Calvariae In Vitro, S. Tholpady, T. Freyman, Debbie Chachra, R. Ogle

Debbie Chachra

BACKGROUND:

Theories regarding the cause of craniosynostosis that are more than 15 years old cite the role that tensional forces play in the normal and abnormal development of the cranial suture. These theories highlight the effect of stress bands originating from the skull base to the vertex, guiding sutural development.

METHODS:

In this study, the normally fusing posterior intrafrontal suture of the rat was subjected to 3 mN of tensional force for 30 minutes per day. The suture was then assessed for patency, proliferation, apoptosis, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta signaling components.

RESULTS:

Sutures that were subjected to tensional force …

Letter To The Editor: Adderall Abuse Sets Add Patients Back, Andrew Blitman

Andrew Blitman

No abstract provided.