Molecular mechanism for feedback regulation of C4 biosynthesis in guinea pig peritoneal macrophage.

Previous reports have shown that regulation of local extrahepatic production of complement may not reflect the regulation of plasma concentrations of the corresponding proteins and, further, that alteration of the tissue microenvironment can affect local macrophage protein synthesis. This report describes the molecular basis for control of the biosynthesis and secretion of a class III major histocompatibility complex gene product, the fourth component of complement (C4), from guinea pig macrophages by extracellular native C4 protein. The effect is specific for C4 synthesis, since production of C2 and total secreted protein was unaffected by fluid phase C4. C4 synthesis by extracellular C4 is regulated at a pretranslational level, without an effect on posttranslational proteolytic cleavage, glycosylation, or secretion. Specific C4 and factor B cDNA probes were used to demonstrate, by dot hybridization and Northern blot analysis, a decrease in messenger RNA coding for C4 that paralleled the inhibition of C4 biosynthesis, while the amount of total RNA and mRNA specific for factor B remained constant. Inhibition of C4 biosynthesis and the disappearance of mRNA encoding C4 occurred between 4 and 6 h after exposure of the macrophages to biologically active or methylamine-inactivated C4 protein. These data demonstrate that regulation of C4 biosynthesis by guinea pig macrophages serves as a model for the study of the molecular mechanisms of macrophage activation as well as the control of production of a component of the inflammatory response.

Memory for moving and static images.

Despite the substantial interest in memory for complex pictorial stimuli, there has been virtually no research comparing memory for static scenes with that for their moving counterparts. We report that both monochrome and color moving images are better remembered than static versions of the same stimuli at retention intervals up to one month. When participants studied a sequence of still images, recognition performance was the same as that for single static images. These results are discussed within a theoretical framework which draws upon previous studies of scene memory, face recognition, and representational momentum.

Presence of an insulin-like growth factor I autocrine loop predicts uterine fibroid responsiveness to tamoxifen.

Uterine leiomyoma is an estrogen-responsive tumor, and the present studies examine the ability of the antiestrogen tamoxifen to modulate leiomyoma cell growth. Tamoxifen is an effective form of hormonal therapy for breast cancer, although the mechanism by which tamoxifen inhibits tumor growth is not well understood and may involve mechanisms other than the action of tamoxifen as an estrogen antagonist. Tamoxifen was found to inhibit the proliferation of three of five leiomyoma-derived cell lines (ELT cell lines) in vitro, including an estrogen receptor-negative cell line. The ability of tamoxifen to decrease leiomyoma growth was found to correlate with expression of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) by the tumor cells, suggesting that the inhibitory effects of tamoxifen were associated with expression of this growth factor. The existence of an IGF-I autocrine loop in the cells was investigated, because transcripts for both IGF-I and its cognate receptor were expressed in the tamoxifen-responsive cell lines. An IGF-I RIA demonstrated secreted IGF-I protein in serum-free medium conditioned by the IGF-I-expressing cell line ELT 3, and this same medium supported the growth of IGF-requiring MCF-10A cells, indicating the presence of biologically active IGF-I in the conditioned medium. Exogenous IGF-I stimulated ELT 3 cell proliferation, confirming that this growth factor is mitogenic for leiomyoma cells. IGF-I neutralizing antibody inhibited ELT 3 growth, indicating that the levels of IGF-I produced by the leiomyoma cells were physiologically significant. These data demonstrate the existence of an IGF-I autocrine loop in tamoxifen-sensitive leiomyoma cells, supporting the hypothesis that the presence of an IGF-I autocrine loop predicts uterine fibroid responsiveness to tamoxifen.

Characteristics of nine newly derived mesothelioma cell lines.

This report characterizes nine new cell lines derived from patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. The lines were initiated between July 1990 and July 1992 from solid tumors (5 lines) or effusions (4 lines) and had proliferated for a period of at least 2 months without senescence. They were characterized by cell size, doubling time, immunohistochemical analyses, electron microscopy, and chromosomal karyotyping. Growth factor/cytokine elaboration was determined using enzyme-linked immunoassays. The established lines were similar in morphology to their parent tumor (ie, epithelial or sarcomatoid). Cell sizes ranged from 59 to 81 microns, and the doubling times varied from 31 to 65 hours. The lines stained with cytokeratin and showed expected negative staining for adenomarkers including B72.3 and carcinoembryonic antigen. All cell lines exhibited aneuploidy, with modal chromosome numbers between 40 and 81 and had multiple chromosomal aberrations. Significant production of granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor, leukemia inhibitory factor, platelet-derived growth factor, and interleukin-6 was seen. These new cell lines derived from human mesotheliomas can now be used to aid in the design of innovative treatment strategies.

Effects of algivorous minnows (Campostoma) on spatial and temporal heterogeneity of stream periphyton.

The effect of grazing minnows (Campostoma) on spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the vertical height of attached filamentous algae (Spirogyra and Rhizoclonium) was measured in natural and artificial streams. Measurements were made at 1-m intervals across natural-stream pools during April-May, and at 0.3-m intervals longitudinally in smaller artificial streams during February-May. Spatial heterogeneity was calculated weekly, as the mean standardized difference in algal height (spatial MDH) between adjacent fixed points. Temporal MDH was calculated as the mean standardized difference in algal height at fixed points between adjacent weeks. Reduction in spatial and temporal MDH, detected only in artificial streams, suggested that grazing by Campostoma promoted and maintained more uniform algal height in contrast to ungrazed algae. Heterogeneity of algal export was greater for ungrazed algae, and decreased over time after sloughing, but that for grazed algae was lower and increased after sloughing. The contrasting experimental systems suggested that Campostoma can reduce spatial and temporal heterogeneity of algae, but that additional variation in depth, substratum characteristics, or presence of other biota may modify effects in natural streams.

Management of pneumothorax in cystic fibrosis.

The increased longevity of patients with cystic fibrosis has resulted in a concomitant increase in the frequency with which pneumothorax is seen. While several approaches to this problem have been available from both a medical and surgical standpoint, unsettled questions remain regarding the efficacy of various modalities of therapy. A review of our own experience with 170 episodes of pneumothorax has provided a basis for proposing what appears to be a reasoned approach to therapy. During the past 12 years, 65 patients ages 5 to 32 years experienced 170 episodes of pneumothorax. Of the 211 trials of treatment, all yielded a high rate of initial resolution (70% to 100%) but rates of recurrence were high. The recurrence rates were: observation 60%, thoracentesis 79%, trochar thoracotomy 63%, tetracycline sclerosis 86%, and silver nitrate 43%. Quinacrine sclerosis yielded an acceptable recurrence rate of 12.5% and partial pleurectomy had no recurrence. There was no statistical difference in the pulmonary function parameters determined before pneumothorax and after chemical pleurodesis or partial pleurectomy. Based upon the data obtained in this review, we recommend that initial management of the pneumothorax include evacuation of the pneumothorax using a chest tube and then chemical pleurodesis using quinacrine sclerosis. In those cases where this pleurodesis fails, upper-partial pleurectomy with obliteration of pleural blebs via a limited thoracentesis is the treatment of choice. An occasional patient requires a concomitant lobectomy.

The effects of intercessory prayer, positive visualization, and expectancy on the well-being of kidney dialysis patients.

CONTEXT: Little replicable empirical evidence on the effectiveness of prayer is available. OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of intercessory prayer, positive visualization, and outcome expectancy on a wide range of medical and psychological measures in critically ill patients. DESIGN: 2 x 3 (expectancy x treatment) factorial study. PARTICIPANTS: 95 adult male and female volunteer hemodialysis subjects with end-stage renal disease from an outpatient clinic in Miami, Fla. INTERVENTION: Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of the 6 treatment conditions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A total of 20 dependent measures (10 medically based and 10 psychological) were used to assess the subjects' overall well-being. Analysis of covariance was used to control for pre-treatment differences between groups. RESULTS: Subjects who expected to receive intercessory prayer reported feeling significantly better than did those who expected to receive positive visualization (F1.93 = 5.42; P < .02). No other statistically significant main effects or interactions were found for either expectancy, intercessory prayer, or positive visualization on the remaining dependent measures. Analysis of effect sizes on all dependent measures failed to indicate even a small magnitude of effect for intercessory prayer as contrasted with expectancy on the medical or psychological variables. CONCLUSIONS: The effects of intercessory prayer and transpersonal positive visualization cannot be distinguished from the effect of expectancy. Therefore, those 2 interventions do not appear to be effective treatments.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing in the treatment of test anxiety: a study of the effects of expectancy and eye movement.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a recently invented technique acclaimed as a major breakthrough for a range of anxiety-related symptoms. To determine the importance of the eye movement and expectancy variables, we conducted a one-hour session with 41 undergraduate subjects (11 males and 30 females) with test anxiety. A 2 (eye movement vs no eye movement) x 2 (high expectancy vs low expectancy) analysis of variance was performed on three dependent measures: (1) Subjective Units of Disturbance Scale (SUDs). (Wolpe, The Practice of Behavior Therapy, 1982); (2) Validity of Cognition Scale (VOC) (Shapiro, 1992); and (3) the Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) (Spielberger, TestAnxiety Inventory Preliminary Professional Manual, 1977). The data indicate that all subjects, regardless of treatment condition, showed a significant decrease in anxiety on the TAI. Subjects in the eye-movement condition reported feeling less anxious (SUDs) than those in the no-eye-movement condition. We found no significant main effect or interactions for any of the dependent measures for expectancy.

Training with o (observing) and T (treatment) teams in live supervision: reflections in the looking glass*.

Working with a treatment and observing team at the same time, behind the oneway mirror, offers a variety of ways to: (a) generate multiple realities; (b) work with two different models of family therapy simultaneously; and (c) provide feedback on the teams' own roles, rules and group process. The process that 6 trainees and two supervisors used with T and O teams to examine their own coevolution as a therapeutic system using the Milan model of family therapy and Ericksonian hypnotherapy is described. The article concludes with a discussion of the advantages and pitfalls of this type of dual supervision.

Ericksonian approaches to hypnosis and therapy: where are we now?

Ericksonian approaches to psychotherapy and hypnosis have had a significant impact on many clinical practitioners over the last two decades. This article reviews the current empirical research with regard to the efficacy of these treatment approaches as well as for the key Ericksonian assumptions of: (a) belief in an altered state of consciousness and the existence of specific markers indicating an altered state; (b) the superiority of indirect suggestion over direct suggestion; and (c) client hypnotizability is a function of the hypnotist's skill. The current literature provides empirical support neither for efficacy nor for these key assumptions. The article concludes with a discussion of the need for empirically based research to test the efficacy of Ericksonian therapy and its core components, lest this approach become isolated from the scientific hypnosis and therapy communities.

A comparison of the hypnotic experience between signing deaf and hearing participants.

This study compared the hypnotic responsiveness of 17 hearing and 34 deaf individuals, all of whom received visual induction and hypnotic suggestions via some form of signing. The comparison between deaf and hearing participants was analyzed on five dependent measures: (a) the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS:C); (b) participants' individual item performance; (c) overall trance depth; (d) a rapport scale; and (e) a resistance scale measuring attitudes of participants toward the hypnotist. Although all participants showed at least a moderate level of hypnotic responsiveness, the data did not indicate a significant main effect between deaf and hearing participants on any of the dependent measures. However, there was a tendency (p < .08) for hearing participants to show a greater hypnotic responsiveness than deaf participants. Additionally, there was a significant difference between all the signing participants combined when compared to the norming population on three items of the SHSS:C. Clinical and theoretical implications of these data are discussed.

Hypnotic inductions with deaf and hearing subjects--an initial comparison: a brief communication.

17 volunteer deaf Ss were compared with 18 volunteer hearing Ss on the Stanford Hypnotic Clinical Scale (SHCS) of Morgan and J. R. Hilgard (1975), and the Indirect Suggestion Scale (ISS) of Matthews and Mosher (1985) in a 2 x 2 ANOVA design. 5 dependent measures: (a) objective scale score; (b) self-report scale score; (c) S rapport with the hypnotist; (d) S resistance to the hypnotist; and (e) overall subjective rating of trance experience were employed to measure any differences between the 2 groups. For SHCS behavioral items, the two-way ANOVA failed to reveal any significant main effect or interaction differences between either group (deaf/hearing) or method of induction (direct/indirect). There was a significant main effect for deaf/hearing groups in level of resistance to the hypnotist. Deaf Ss reported feeling more resistant to the hypnotist than did hearing Ss. This may be due to the mode of communication or the fact that the hypnotist was hearing. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.

Hypnosis with signing deaf and hearing subjects.

Historically hypnosis with deaf people has been an underutilized intervention as the deaf were assumed not to be responsive to hypnotic suggestion. Recent research has begun to challenge these assumptions. Matthews and Isenberg (in press) compared the hypnotic responsiveness of deaf and hearing subjects on the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, form C (SHSS:C) all of whom received the hypnotic suggestions via sign language. Those results supported the notion that deaf subjects are capable of responding to hypnotic suggestion and may be as hypnotically responsive as hearing subjects. The purpose of the present article is to examine the similarities and differences of responses between deaf and hearing subjects to the individual items of the SHSS:C and compare those responses to the SHSS:C norms.

Working hypnotically with deaf people.

Little attention has been given to the utilization of hypnosis with deaf people. In a recent study, we compared objective and subjective responses to two different hypnotic induction techniques by deaf and hearing undergraduate women. We presented hypnosis techniques orally to hearing subjects and visually, using sign-language, to deaf subjects. Results from this study failed to reveal any significant differences on objective or self-report levels of trance depth between the two populations. Our purpose in this article is to examine the similarities and differences of the induction process and hypnotic responses, including trance indicators, between deaf and hearing subjects.

What do clients think about the metaphors they receive? An initial inquiry.

Research on Ericksonian techniques and claims of effectiveness has been very sparse. Most of the focus on Ericksonian approaches has been on the development of techniques by the clinicians, seemingly independent of the meaning to the client. One of these interventions is the multiple embedded metaphor (MEM), a series of stories within stories. The underlying assumption is that in order to be effective the metaphor(s) needs to be processed outside of conscious awareness. Six clients participated and were given eight session of psychotherapy, three sessions of which involved the use of MEM. A week after each MEM session, clients reviewed that session on videotape with the therapist. Only one of the six clients reported amnesia for the experience. Four of the five nonamnestic clients had changes in their presenting problems and felt the process to be helpful. The limitations and implications for clinicians are discussed.

Electrophysiological correlates of masked face priming.

Using a sandwich-masked priming paradigm with faces, we report two ERP effects that appear to reflect different levels of subliminal face processing. These two ERP repetition effects dissociate in their onset, scalp topography, and sensitivity to face familiarity. The "early" effect occurred between 100 and 150 ms, was maximally negative-going over lateral temporoparietal channels, and was found for both familiar and unfamiliar faces. The "late" effect occurred between 300 and 500 ms, was maximally positive-going over centroparietal channels, and was found only for familiar faces. The early effect resembled our previous fMRI data from the same paradigm; the late effect resembled the behavioural priming found, in the form of faster reaction times to make fame judgments about primed relative to unprimed familiar faces. None of the ERP or behavioural effects appeared explicable by a measure of participants' ability to see the primes. The ERP and behavioural effects showed some sensitivity to whether the same or a different photograph of a face was repeated, but could remain reliable across different photographs, and did not appear attributable to a low-level measure of pixelwise overlap between prime and probe photograph. The functional significance of these ERP effects is discussed in relation to unconscious perception and face processing.