Showing papers by "San Francisco State University published in 1971"

LSD and Genetic Damage

Abstract: Of nine studies in vitro, six have indicated some degree of induced chromosomal breakage after exposure to LSD; three failed to confirm these results. The damage, when found, was generally of the chromatid type, arising during or after DNA synthesis. This damage, with one exception, was the result of concentrations of drug and durations of exposure which could not be achieved in humans with reasonable dosages. There did not appear to be a dose-response relation. The magnitude of damage, when found, was in the range encompassing the effects of many commonly used substances. The absence in vitro of excretory and detoxifying systems present in vivo, as well as several negative reports, cast doubt on the relevance of in vitro results. In 21 chromosomal studies in vivo, 310 subjects were examined. Of these, 126 were treated with pure LSD; the other 184 were exposed to illicit, "alleged" LSD. A maximum of only 18 of 126 (14.29 percent) of the subjects in the group exposed to pure LSD showed higher frequency of chromosome aberration than the controls. In contrast, a maximum of 90 of 184 (48.91 percent) of the subjects taking illicit LSD showed an increase in frequency of aberrations. Of all the subjects reported to have chromosome damage, only 18 of the 108 (16.67 percent) were exposed to pure LSD. The frequency of individuals with chromosomal damage reported among illicit drug users was more than triple that associated with the use of pharmacologically pure LSD. We conclude that chromosome damage, when found, was related to the effects of drug abuse in general and not, as initially reported, to LSD alone. We believe that pure LSD ingested in moderate dosages does not produce chromosome damage detectable by available methods. No significant work on carcinogenic potential of LSD has been reported so far. No cause-and-effect relation and no increase in the incidence of neoplasia among LSD users have been demonstrated. Case reports (three in 4.0 years) of leukemia and other neoplasia in this population are rare. The results of early chromosome studies suggested that true genetic damage might be a consequence of LSD exposure. The comprehensive evidence from studies on drosophila indicates no mutagenic effect from 0.28 to 500 microg of LSD per milliliter and a definite mutagenic effect from 2,000 to 10,000 microg/ml; this is consistent with a threshold response or a sigmoid dose-effect relation. We believe that LSD is, in fact, a weak mutagen, effective only in extremely high doses; it is unlikely to be mutagenic in any concentration used by human subjects. Circular dichroism experiments suggested that the specific mechanism of action of LSD on DNA may be a direct interaction resulting in conformational changes in the DNA helix. These changes are unlikely to result in a decrease of internal stability sufficient to cause breakage of chromosomes, but they may be the physical basis of the weak mutagenicity. Early chromosomal studies implicated LSD as a potential cause of congenital malformations, fetal wastage, and germinal chromosome damage. First reports of a teratogenic effect in hamsters and rats have not been confirmed. A review of 15 rodent studies indicated a wide range of individual, strain, and species susceptibility to the effects of LSD. The applicability of such investigations to man is doubtful. In a study of human pregnancies, those exposed to illicit LSD had an elevated rate of spontaneous abortions. There is no reported instance of a malformed child born to a woman who ingested pure LSD; there are six cases of malformation associated with exposure to illicit LSD, four of which have similar limb defects. Given, however, the high frequency of unexplained "spontaneous" birth defects, the rare occurrence of malformed infants born to women who used illicit LSD may be coincidental. While there is no evidence that pure LSD is teratogenic in man, the use of any drug during pregnancy requires that its potential benefits significantly outweigh its potential hazards. From our own work and from a review of the literature, we believe that pure LSD ingested in moderate doses does not damage chromosomes in vivo, does not cause detectable genetic damage, and is not a teratogen or a carcinogen in man. Within these bounds, therefore, we suggest that, other than during pregnancy, there is no present contraindication to the continued controlled experimental use of pure LSD. Note added in proof: A brief review has been brought to our attention. Although based on a sample of only 15 studies the author reached conclusions similar to our own (92).

Changing role perceptions for parents of handicapped children.

Abstract: Socialization to the role of parent of a handicapped child is usually a traumatic and conflict producing experience. There are both instrumental (technical) and expressive (emotional) aspects of th...

Ambition and the Political Vocation: Congressional Challengers in American Politics

Abstract: " /t mbition," Joseph Schlesinger argues, "lies at the heart of politics. . . . The central assumption of ambition theory is that a politician's behavior is a response to his office goals." But the structure of opportunity and the structure of ambition have proved extremely difficult to link empirically.' Some years ago Harold Lasswell ridiculed the notion of a political escalator carrying politicians in an orderly and inevitable fashion from the lowest to the highest positions of power in the United States. Various structural and motivational factors do not support such a conception. Yet most commentators would agree that". . . political careers may be subjectively conceived as real and because they are so conceived, have real consequences for the taking of political roles and behavior."2 This premise constitutes the basis for recent theories of political recruitment and has provided a common focus for a small but growing body of empirical research.3

Arab and American Autoand Heterostereotypes: A Cross-Cultural Study of Empathy

Abstract: Forty Arab and 21 American male university students were asked to rate a list of 250 adjectives, drawn from Gough's Adjective Check List, in terms of the extent to which each adjective was descriptive of the respondent. Seventeen adjectives were selected as more descriptive of Arab than American respondents, and 27 were selected as being more descriptive of American than Arab respondents. The adjectives thus selected were used to construct a forced-choice questionnaire of 30 contrasting Arab-American pairs. When the questionnaire was administered to a sample of 25 Arab and 25 American male students, Arabs were more successful in identifying typical American responses than Americans were in identifying typical Arab responses. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that the members of low-power (LP) groups would have more empathy for members of high-power (HP) groups than vice versa.

Chaos Structure and Turtleback Dome, Mineral Ridge, Esmeralda County, Nevada

Abstract: Blocks of late Precambrian and Lower Cambrian sedimentary rocks are in fault contact with the underlying complexly deformed Pre-cambrian units of Mineral Ridge in Nevada. A structure contour map of the contact between the metamorphic and sedimentary rocks was constructed using the topography of low-relief areas on the metamorphic rocks. This map shows the structure to be a dome, with smaller-scale elevations and depressions superimposed on the dome shape. The disordered and yet unfolded aspect of the fault blocks and the age relationships of the rocks involved are strikingly similar to the characteristics of the Amargosa Chaos of the Death Valley area; moreover, the form of the fault contact resembles the turtleback domes associated with the chaos at Death Valley. Similarities to areas of gravity sliding, including a possible erosion surface overriden by the thrust blocks, indicate the chaotic structures of Mineral Ridge may be the results of near-surface gravity movements rather than the secondary features of strike-slip faults.

Influences of various amino acids on tryptophan-mediated control of the tryptophan biosynthetic enzymes in Escherichia coli.

Abstract: Lysates of Escherichia coli Ymel obtained from cultures grown in the absence of tryptophan in minimal medium supplemented with 0.1% casein hydrolysate show an approximate fivefold increase in steady-state specific activity of both anthranilate synthetase and tryptophan synthetase A protein relative to cultures grown in nonsupplemented medium. In the presence of repressing levels of exogenous tryptophan, growth of cultures in casein hydrolysate-supplemented medium results in a noncoordinate enhancement of repression of 10-fold for anthranilate synthetase and twofold for tryptophan synthetase A protein. Similar, but less pronounced, effects are shown for strain W3110. Strains possessing tryptophan regulator gene mutations do not exhibit this first effect, but do yield an approximate twofold decrease in specific activity of both enzymes when grown in medium supplemented with tryptophan and casein hydrolysate. A stimulation of derepression of both enzymes in strain Ymel equivalent to that induced by casein hydrolysate can be reproduced by growth in minimal medium supplemented with threonine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, serine, glutamic acid, and glutamine. Doubling time in this medium is not significantly different from that in minimal medium. An enhancement of repression which partially mimics that observed on growth in medium supplemented with tryptophan plus casein hydrolysate is obtained when Ymel is grown on medium supplemented with tryptophan plus methionine. Threonine or phenylalanine plus tyrosine as separate medium supplements are independently capable of producing a 1.4-fold or 3.4-fold stimulation, respectively, but in combination only the phenylalanine plus tyrosine effect is manifested unless serine and glutamic acid or glutamine are included. Our data show that expression of the tryptophan biosynthetic enzymes can be significantly influenced in vivo as a result of growth in medium supplemented with a variety of amino acids.

Ideal Teacher Concepts: Attitude Shift after Practice Teaching

Abstract: Gough, Durflinger, and Hill (1968) developed a scoring formula, based on California Psychological Inventory scales, that discriminated between student teachers rated "good or "poor" by training supervisors. Cross-validation studies showed that the student-teacher scoring formula (STSF) predicted student teacher success fairly well. The researchers also wished to identify personal characteristics related to high and low scorers on the STSF, and asked fraternity and sorority members to rate one another on the Gough's Adjective Checklist. The present study concerned the 12 adjectives most chosen by these Ss to describe high female scorers on the STSF: dominant, persevering, persistent, serious, opinionated, ambitious, demanding, logical, rigid, clear-thinking, determined, responsible. The 12 adjectives most chosen to describe low female scorers were: curious. affectionate. careless, easy-going, unconventional, dreamy, understanding, irresponsible, cheerful, natural, individualistic, thoughdul. The present study undertook to determine whether supervisors of elementary teachers would characterize "an ideal female elementarv teacher" in a similar manner to the above-listed peer perceptions of high scorers, and whether students in practice teaching would be closer to supervisors' perceptions of this ideal than would students taking their first course in the teacher-training sequence. A 30-item forced-choice test was constructed of the 2 lists of adjectives, each pair consisting of an adjective from the high scorer's list and one from the low scorer's list. Pairing coupled positive adjectives with positive adjectives and negative adjectives with negative ones. The resulting list was administered to 16 female supervisors of elementary teachers, 16 female elementary student teachers, and 16 female smdents in educational psychology classes who were asked to select the adjective in each pair that best characterized the ideal elementary teacher. When responses were scored according to a key based on the high scorer's list, mean scores were: supervisors 15.3, student teachers 13.3, and educational psychology students 9.27. The corrected (Spearman-Brown) split-half reliability of the questionnaire was 34. Analysis of variance gave an F ratio of 5.66 (p = .02). Results suggest that ideal-teacher concepts held by practice-teaching supervisors are closer to the personality stereotype that emerges from the peer judgments of high scorers on the STSF than are the concepts held by students entering the teacher-education program. Students actually engaged in practice teaching, however, score closer to the supervisors' mean than those who have not had this experience. Such results are consistent with what one would expect from social learning theory in that exposure to a powerful model elicits imitation. It is also possible that experience with actual classroom problems led student teachers to change some of their preconceptions regarding the personal qualities needed to be an effective teacher. This should be studied.

The Cost of Heroin to the Addict and the Community

Abstract: (1971). The Cost of Heroin to the Addict and the Community. Journal of Psychedelic Drugs: Vol. 4, The Contemporary Heroin Scene, Part I: The Problem, pp. 99-103.