Showing papers by "Sapienza University of Rome published in 1996"
TL;DR: This paper examined the role of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency and found that it fosters detrimental conduct by reducing prosocialness and anticipatory self-censure and by promoting cognitive and affective reactions conducive to aggression.
Abstract: This research examined the role of mechanisms of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Regulatory self-sanctions can be selectively disengaged from detrimental conduct by converting harmful acts to moral ones through linkage to worthy purposes, obscuring personal causal agency by diffusion and displacement of responsibility, misrepresenting or disregarding the injurious effects inflicted on others, and vilifying the recipients of maltreatment by blaming and dehumanizing them. The study examined the structure and impact of moral disengagement on detrimental conduct and the psychological processes through which it exerts its effects. Path analyses reveal that moral disengagement fosters detrimental conduct by reducing prosocialness and anticipatory self-censure and by promoting cognitive and affective reactions conducive to aggression. The structure of the paths of influence is very similar for interpersonal aggression and delinquent conduct. Although the various mechanisms of moral disengagement operate in concert, moral reconstruals of harmful conduct by linking it to worthy purposes and vilification of victims seem to contribute most heavily to engagement in detrimental activities. Psychological theories of moral agency focus heavily on moral thought to the neglect of moral conduct. The limited attention to moral conduct reflects both the rationalistic bias of many theories of morality (Kohlberg, 1984) and the convenience of investigatory method. It is much easier to examine how people reason about hypothetical moral dilemmas than to study how they behave in difficult life predicaments. People suffer from the wrongs done to them, regardless of how perpetrators might justify their inhumane actions. The regulation of conduct involves much more than moral reasoning. A theory of morality must specify the mechanisms by which people come to live in accordance with moral standards. In social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1991), moral reasoning is translated into actions through self-regulatory mechanisms through which moral agency is exercised. In the course of socialization , moral standards are constructed from information conveyed by direct tuition, evaluative social reactions to one's conduct, and exposure to the selfevaluative standards modeled by others. Once formed, such standards serve as guides and deterrents for action. People regulate their actions by the consequences they apply to them
2,009 citations
TL;DR: Parents' sense of academic efficacy and aspirations for their children were linked to their children's scholastic achievement through their perceived academic capabilities and aspirations and the full set of self-efficacy, aspirational, and psychosocial factors accounted for a sizable share of the variance in academic achievement.
Abstract: This research analyzed the network of psychosocial influences through which efficacy beliefs affect academic achievement. Parents' sense of academic efficacy and aspirations for their children were linked to their children's scholastic achievement through their perceived academic capabilities and aspirations. Children's beliefs in their efficacy to regulate their own learning and academic attainments, in turn, contributed to scholastic achievement both independently and by promoting high academic aspirations and prosocial behavior and reducing vulnerability to feelings of futility and depression. Children's perceived social efficacy and efficacy to manage peer pressure for detrimental conduct also contributed to academic attainments but through partially different paths of affective and self-regulatory influence. The impact of perceived social efficacy was mediated through academic aspirations and a low level of depression. Perceived self-regulatory efficacy was related to academic achievement both directly and through adherence to moral self-sanctions for detrimental conduct and problem behavior that can subvert academic pursuits. Familial socioeconomic status was linked to children's academic achievement only indirectly through its effects on parental aspirations and children's prosocialness. The full set of self-efficacy, aspirational, and psychosocial factors accounted for a sizable share of the variance in academic achievement.
1,726 citations
TL;DR: It is reported that intravenous nicotine in the rat, at doses known to maintain self-administration, stimulates local energy metabolism, as measured by 2-deoxyglucose autoradiography, and dopamine transmission, as estimated by brain microdialysis, in the shell of the nucleus accumbens.
Abstract: THE question of whether nicotine, the neuroactive compound of tobacco, is addictive has been open to considerable scientific and public discussion. Although it can serve as a positive reinforcer in several animal species, including man, nicotine is thought to be a weak reinforcer in comparison with addictive drugs such as cocaine and heroin1,2, and has been argued to be habit forming but not addictive3,4. Here we report that intravenous nicotine in the rat, at doses known to maintain self-administration, stimulates local energy metabolism, as measured by 2-deoxyglucose autoradiography, and dopamine transmission, as estimated by brain microdialysis, in the shell of the nucleus accumbens. These neurochemical and metabolic effects are qualitatively similar to those of other drugs, such as cocaine, amphetamine and morphine, which have strong addictive properties5–7. Our results provide functional and neurochemical evidence that there are specific neurobiological commonalities between nicotine and addictive drugs.
1,075 citations
TL;DR: The conclusion that most haplogroups observed in Europe are Caucasoid-specific, and that at least some of them occur at varying frequencies in different Caucasoid populations, is supported.
Abstract: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence variation was examined in Finns, Swedes and Tuscans by PCR amplification and restriction analysis. About 99% of the mtDNAs were subsumed within 10 mtDNA haplogroups (H, I, J, K, M, T, U, V, W, and X) suggesting that the identified haplogroups could encompass virtually all European mtDNAs. Because both hypervariable segments of the mtDNA control region were previously sequenced in the Tuscan samples, the mtDNA haplogroups and control region sequences could be compared. Using a combination of haplogroup-specific restriction site changes and control region nucleotide substitutions, the distribution of the haplogroups was surveyed through the published restriction site polymorphism and control region sequence data of Caucasoids. This supported the conclusion that most haplogroups observed in Europe are Caucasoid-specific, and that at least some of them occur at varying frequencies in different Caucasoid populations. The classification of almost all European mtDNA variation in a number of well defined haplogroups could provide additional insights about the origin and relationships of Caucasoid populations and the process of human colonization of Europe, and is valuable for the definition of the role played by mtDNA backgrounds in the expression of pathological mtDNA mutations
904 citations
TL;DR: The correlation between factor scores corroborated the hypothesis that childhood sleep disturbances are not independent entities nor do they cluster into different groupings related to each other and appears to be a useful tool in evaluating the sleep disturbances of school‐age children in clinical and non‐clinical populations.
Abstract: To attempt a categorization of sleep disorders in children, we developed a 27 item Likert-type rating scale (Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children: SDSC) and assessed the psychometric properties was developed. The scale was distributed to the mothers of 1304 children (1157 controls, mean age 9.8 y; 147 sleep disorder subjects, mean age 9.2y, composed of four clinical groups: Insomnia 39 subjects, Hypersomnia 12 subjects, Respiratory disturbances during sleep 25 subjects and Parasomnias 71 subjects). The internal consistency was high in controls (0.79) and remained at a satisfactory level in sleep disorder subjects (0.71); the test/retest reliability was adequate for the total (r = 0.71) and single item scores. The factor analysis (variance explained 44.21%) yielded six factors which represented the most common areas of sleep disorders in childhood and adolescence. Enuresis was the only item with a factor loading lower than 0.40 and with a low inter-item correlation and was therefore eliminated, resulting in a final scale of 26 items. The re-evaluation of the sample, using the factor scores, supported the validity and the discriminating capacity of the scales between controls and the four clinical groups. The correlation between factor scores corroborated the hypothesis that childhood sleep disturbances are not independent entities nor do they cluster into different groupings related to each other. The SDSC appears to be a useful tool in evaluating the sleep disturbances of school-age children in clinical and non-clinical populations.
883 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors described linkage and association of type 1 diabetes to the CTLA-4 gene (cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated-4) on chromosome 2q33 (designated IDDM12), which is a strong candidate gene for T cell mediated autoimmune disease because it encodes a T cell receptor that mediates T cell apoptosis and is a vital negative regulator of T cell activation.
Abstract: Susceptibility to autoimmune insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetes mellitus is determined by a combination of environmental and genetic factors, which include variation in MHC genes on chromosome 6p21 (IDDM1) and the insulin gene on chromosome 11p15 (IDDM2). However, linkage to IDDM1 and IDDM2 cannot explain the clustering of type 1 diabetes in families, and a role for other genes is inferred. In the present report we describe linkage and association of type 1 diabetes to the CTLA-4 gene (cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated-4) on chromosome 2q33 (designated IDDM12). CTLA-4 is a strong candidate gene for T cell-mediated autoimmune disease because it encodes a T cell receptor that mediates T cell apoptosis and is a vital negative regulator of T cell activation. In addition, we provide supporting evidence that CTLA-4 is associated with susceptibility to Graves' disease, another organ-specific autoimmune disease.
798 citations
TL;DR: The experimental problems related to the reconstruction of the position and orientation of the lower limb bones in space during the execution of locomotion and physical exercises and inaccuracies associated with the relative movement between markers and underlying bone are analysed.
763 citations
TL;DR: An extended appendix by Massimo Egidi provides a lexicon of synonyms and opposites covering use of the word 'routine' in such areas as economics, organization theory and artificial intelligence.
Abstract: This paper reports and extends discussions carried out during a workshop held at the Santa Fe Institute in August 1995 by the authors. It treats eight major topics: (i) the importance of carefully examining research on routine, (ii) the concept of 'action patterns' in general and in terms of routine, (iii) the useful categorization of routines and other recurring patterns, (iv) the research implications of recent cognitive results, (v) the relation of evolution to action patterns, (vi) the contributions of simulation modeling for theory in this area, (vii) examples of various approaches to empirical research that reveal key problems, and (viii) a possible definition of 'routine'. An extended appendix by Massimo Egidi provides a lexicon of synonyms and opposites covering use of the word 'routine' in such areas as economics, organization theory and artificial intelligence. Coauthors are Roger Burkhart, Giovanni Dosi, Massimo Egidi, Suigi Marengo, Massimo Warglien, and Sidney Winter. Copyright 1996 by Oxford University Press.
717 citations
TL;DR: Frontal and parietal regions sharing similar functional properties were preferentially connected through their association pathways, and area MIP emerged as the parietal nodes by which visual information may be relayed to the frontal lobe arm region.
Abstract: The functional and structural properties of the dorsolateral frontal lobe and posterior parietal proximal arm representations were studied in macaque monkeys. Physiological mapping of primary motor (MI), dorsal premotor (PMd), and posterior parietal (area 5) cortices was performed in behaving monkeys trained in an instructed-delay reaching task. The parietofrontal corticocortical connectivities of these same areas were subsequently examined anatomically by means of retrograde tracing techniques. Signal-, set-, movement-, and position-related directional neuronal activities were distributed nonuniformly within the task-related areas in both frontal and parietal cortices. Within the frontal lobe, moving caudally from PMd to the MI, the activity that signals for the visuo-spatial events leading to target localization decreased, while the activity more directly linked to movement generation increased. Physiological recordings in the superior parietal lobule revealed a gradient-like distribution of functional properties similar to that observed in the frontal lobe. Signal- and set-related activities were encountered more frequently in the intermediate and ventral part of the medial bank of the intraparietal sulcus (IPS), in area MIP. Movement-and position-related activities were distributed more uniformly within the superior parietal lobule (SPL), in both dorsal area 5 and in MIP. Frontal and parietal regions sharing similar functional properties were preferentially connected through their association pathways. As a result of this study, area MIP, and possibly areas MDP and 7m as well, emerge as the parietal nodes by which visual information may be relayed to the frontal lobe arm region. These parietal and frontal areas, along with their association connections, represent a potential cortical network for visual reaching. The architecture of this network is ideal for coding reaching as the result of a combination between visual and somatic information.
668 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a finite-difference scheme for direct simulation of the incompressible time-dependent three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations in cylindrical coordinates is presented.
612 citations
TL;DR: Women with familial thrombophilia, especially those with combined defects or antithrombin deficiency, have an increased risk of fetal loss, particularly stillbirth.
TL;DR: The measurement of the Cu-O distances by a local and fast probe, polarized Cu {ital K}-edge extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) in La{sub 1.85}Sr{sub 0.15}CuO{sub 4} crystal shows two different conformations of theCuO octahedra below 100 K assigned to two types of stripes with different lattice.
Abstract: The measurement of the Cu-O distances by a local and fast probe, polarized Cu {ital K}-edge extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) in La{sub 1.85}Sr{sub 0.15}CuO{sub 4} crystal shows two different conformations of the CuO{sub 6} octahedra below 100 K assigned to two types of stripes with different lattice. This experiment supports a model of {open_quote}{open_quote}two components{close_quote}{close_quote} spatially separated in a superlattice of quantum stripes for the anomalous properties of cuprate superconductors. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}
TL;DR: A new stochastic algorithm (generalized simulated annealing) for computationally finding the global minimum of a given energy/cost function defined in a continuous D-dimensional space is discussed and illustrated.
Abstract: We discuss and illustrate a new stochastic algorithm (generalized simulated annealing) for computationally finding the global minimum of a given (not necessarily convex) energy/cost function defined in a continuous D-dimensional space. This algorithm recovers, as particular cases, the so-called classical (“Boltzmann machine”) and fast (“Cauchy machine”) simulated annealings, and turns out to be quicker than both.
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that the wc‐1 zinc finger domain, expressed in Escherichia coli, is able to bind specifically to the promoter of a blue light‐regulated gene of Neurospora using an in vitro gel retardation assay, which provides a key piece of the blue light signal transduction puzzle.
Abstract: The Neurospora crassa blind mutant white collar-1 (wc-1) is pleiotropically defective in all blue light-induced phenomena, establishing a role for the wc-1 gene product in the signal transduction pathway. We report the cloning of the wc-1 gene isolated by chromosome walking and mutant complementation. The elucidation of the wc-1 gene product provides a key piece of the blue light signal transduction puzzle. The wc-1 gene encodes a 125 kDa protein whose encoded motifs include a single class four, zinc finger DNA binding domain and a glutamine-rich putative transcription activation domain. We demonstrate that the wc-1 zinc finger domain, expressed in Escherichia coli, is able to bind specifically to the promoter of a blue light-regulated gene of Neurospora using an in vitro gel retardation assay. Furthermore, we show that wc-1 gene expression is autoregulated and is transcriptionally induced by blue light irradiation.
TL;DR: The present study shows that previous thrombosis and ACA titer > 40 U are independent predictors of thromBosis; history of miscarriage or vascular disease is significantly associated with adverse pregnancy outcome; and hematological malignancies can develop during follow-up in patients with antiphospholipid antibodies.
TL;DR: In this article, a comprehensive study on the effect of a lossy ground on the induced voltages on overhead power lines by a nearby lightning strike is presented, where the ground conductivity plays a role in both the evaluation of the lightning radiated fields and of the line parameters.
Abstract: A comprehensive study on the effect of a lossy ground on the induced voltages on overhead power lines by a nearby lightning strike is presented The ground conductivity plays a role in both the evaluation of the lightning radiated fields and of the line parameters To be calculated by means of a rigorous theory, both fields and line constants need important computation time, which, for the problem of interest, is still prohibitive The aim of this paper is to discuss and analyze the various simplified approaches and techniques that have been proposed for the calculation of the fields and the line constants when the ground cannot be assumed as a perfectly conducting plane Regarding the radiated electromagnetic field, it is shown that the horizontal electric field, the component which is most affected by the ground finite conductivity, can be calculated in an accurate way using the Cooray-Rubinstein simplified formula The presence of an imperfectly conducting ground is included in the coupling equations by means of two additional terms: the longitudinal ground impedance and the transverse ground admittance, which are both frequency-dependent The latter can generally be neglected for typical overhead lines, due to its small contribution to the overall transverse admittance of the line Regarding the ground impedance, a comparison between several simplified expressions used in the literature is presented and the validity limits of these expressions are established It is also shown that for typical overhead lines the wire impedance can be neglected as regard to the ground impedance
TL;DR: The highest NGF values were found in patients with severe allergic asthma, a high degree of bronchial hyperreactivity, and high total IgE and eosinophil cationic protein serum levels.
Abstract: Nerve growth factor (NGF) serum levels were measured in 49 patients with asthma and/or rhinoconjunctivitis and/or urticaria-angioedema. Clinical and biochemical parameters, such as bronchial reactivity, total and specific serum IgE levels, and circulating eosinophil cationic protein levels, were evaluated in relation to NGF values in asthma patients. NGF was significantly increased in the 42 allergic (skin-test- or radioallergosorbent-test-positive) subjects (49.7 +/- 28.8 pg/ml) versus the 18 matched controls (3.8 +/- 1.7 pg/ml; P < 0.001). NGF levels in allergic patients with asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, and urticaria-angioedema were 132.1 +/- 90.8, 17.6 +/- 6.1, and 7.6 +/- 1.8 pg/ml (P < 0.001, P < 0.002, and P < 0.05 versus controls), respectively. Patients with more than one allergic disease had higher NGF serum values than those with a single disease. When asthma patients were considered as a group, NGF serum values (87.6 +/- 59.8 pg/ml) were still significantly higher than those of control groups (P < 0.001), but allergic asthma patients had elevated NGF serum levels compared with nonallergic asthma patients (132.1 +/- 90.8 versus 4.9 +/- 2.9 pg/ml; P < 0.001). NGF serum levels correlate to total IgE serum values (rho = 0.43; P < 0.02). The highest NGF values were found in patients with severe allergic asthma, a high degree of bronchial hyperreactivity, and high total IgE and eosinophil cationic protein serum levels. This study represents the first observation (that we know of) that NGF is increased in human allergic inflammatory diseases and asthma.
TL;DR: Silencing was shown to be a dominant trait, operative in heterokaryotic strains containing a mixture of transgenic and non‐transgenic nuclei, consistent with a model in which an RNA‐DNA or RNA‐RNA interaction is involved in transgene‐induced gene silencing in Neurospora.
Abstract: The molecular mechanisms involved in transgene-induced gene silencing ('quelling') in Neurospora crassa were investigated using the carotenoid biosynthetic gene albino-1 (al-1) as a visual marker. Deletion derivatives of the al-1 gene showed that a transgene must contain at least approximately 132 bp of sequences homologous to the transcribed region of the native gene in order to induce quelling. Transgenes containing only al-1 promoter sequences do not cause quelling. Specific sequences are not required for gene silencing, as different regions of the al-1 gene produced quelling. A mutant defective in cytosine methylation (dim-2) exhibited normal frequencies and degrees of silencing, indicating that cytosine methylation is not responsible for quelling, despite the fact that methylation of transgene sequences frequently is correlated with silencing. Silencing was shown to be a dominant trait, operative in heterokaryotic strains containing a mixture of transgenic and non-transgenic nuclei. This result indicates that a diffusable, trans-acting molecule is involved in quelling. A transgene-derived, sense RNA was detected in quelled strains and was found to be absent in their revertants. These data are consistent with a model in which an RNA-DNA or RNA-RNA interaction is involved in transgene-induced gene silencing in Neurospora.
TL;DR: It is speculated that an altered intestinal permeability could represent a possible mechanism for the increased passage through the gut mucosa of peptides derived from foods with subsequent behavioural abnormalities.
Abstract: We determined the occurrence of gut mucosal damage using the intestinal permeability test in 21 autistic children who had no clinical and laboratory findings consistent with known intestinal disorders. An altered intestinal permeability was found in 9 of the 21 (43%) autistic patients, but in none of the 40 controls. Compared to the controls, these nine patients showed a similar mean mannitol recovery, but a significantly higher mean lactulose recovery (1.64% +/- 1.43 vs 0.38% +/- 0.14; P < 0.001). We speculate that an altered intestinal permeability could represent a possible mechanism for the increased passage through the gut mucosa of peptides derived from foods with subsequent behavioural abnormalities.
TL;DR: The recent extension of Newton's method to semismooth systems of equations and the fact that the natural merit function associated to the equation reformulation is continuously differentiable are exploited to develop an algorithm whose global and quadratic convergence properties can be established under very mild assumptions.
Abstract: In this paper we present a new algorithm for the solution of nonlinear complementarity problems. The algorithm is based on a semismooth equation reformulation of the complementarity problem. We exploit the recent extension of Newton's method to semismooth systems of equations and the fact that the natural merit function associated to the equation reformulation is continuously differentiable to develop an algorithm whose global and quadratic convergence properties can be established under very mild assumptions. Other interesting features of the new algorithm are an extreme simplicity along with a low computational burden per iteration. We include numerical tests which show the viability of the approach.
TL;DR: Endoscopic resection of lung malignancies is rapid, effective, repeatable, and complementary to other treatments; although it should be considered only palliative, laser resection could be curative in patients with in situ carcinomas and early cancers.
TL;DR: The hypothesis that the general function of protein glycosylation is to aid in folding of the nascent polypeptide chain and in stabilization of the conformation of the mature glycoprotein is supported.
Abstract: To study the role of oligosaccharides on the properties of glycoproteins, five glycoproteins (yeast external invertase, bovine serum fetuin, glucoamylase from Aspergillus niger, and chicken egg white ovotransferrin and avidin) of previously established glycan patterns were purified to homogeneity and deglycosylated with endo- and exo-glycosidases in native conditions. Thermal stability and conformational changes were measured by high-resolution differential scanning microcalorimetry and circular dicroism spectroscopy before and after they were deglycosylated. It was found that deglycosylation decreases protein thermal stability, as judged by the decrease in denaturation temperature and denaturation enthalpy, while it does not affect substantially the conformation as indicated by the CD spectra in the far UV range. The destabilization effect of deglycosylation seems to depend on the carbohydrate content, i.e., the maximum effect was observed for the most heavily glycosylated protein, irrespective of the ty...
TL;DR: The characterization of Athb-10, a 747 amino acid protein belonging to the fourth HD-ZIP family, is reported, indicating that, although less conserved, the leucine zipper of Ath b-10 can functionally replace that of AthB-2 in an in vitro DNA-binding assay.
Abstract: Homeodomain-leucine zipper (HD-Zip) proteins are putative transcription factors identified only in plants. Related Arabidopsis homeobox genes, isolated by virtue of sequence conservation within the helix-3 region of the homeodomain, fall into four families based on sequence similarity. This paper reports the characterization of Athb-10, a 747 amino acid protein belonging to the fourth HD-ZIP family. The studies indicate that, although less conserved, the leucine zipper of Athb-10 can functionally replace that of Athb-2 in an in vitro DNA-binding assay. Gene mapping experiments and sequence comparison analysis revealed that Athb-10 corresponds to GLABRA2, a homeodomain protein involved in trichome development. The mRNA expression analysis revealed that Athb-10/GLABRA2 is expressed not only in trichome-bearing organs, but also in the root. The analysis of wild-type and mutant plants showed that the Athb-10/GLABRA2 gene expression in the aerial part of the plant and in the root is affected by mutations at the TTG locus. Morphological analysis of the gl2-1 mutant revealed that the gene is necessary not only for local outgrowth of the trichome, but also for the regulation of root hair development in a subset of epidermal cells. Interestingly, the development of root hair cells in a position normally occupied by non-hair cells is dependent upon the ethylene regime in which the gl2-1 plants are grown. Sequence analysis of the gl2-1 allele revealed that the mutant gene encodes a truncated protein that might still retain a partial activity responsible for the formation of aborted trichomes and for the ethylene-dependent regulation of root hair formation.
TL;DR: The peptides predicted from the sequence of the cloned cDNAs as well as several structurally related peptides could be isolated from the skin secretion of R. temporaria, which are the smallest antibacterial peptides hitherto found in nature.
Abstract: A cDNA library from the skin of Rana temporaria has been screened using a cDNA fragment probe that encodes the signal peptide of the precursor of esculentin from the skin secretion of Rana esculenta. With this approach, the cDNAs encoding the precursors of three peptides were isolated. Subsequently, the peptides predicted from the sequence of the cloned cDNAs as well as several structurally related peptides could be isolated from the skin secretion of R. temporaria. These peptides, which were named temporins, have a length of 10-13 residues and show some sequence similarity to hemolytic peptides isolated from Vespa venom [Argiolas, A. & Pisano, J. J. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 10106-10111]. Natural and synthetic temporins have antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria, but they are not hemolytic. Temporins are the smallest antibacterial peptides hitherto found in nature.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Despite the high rate of recurrence, radical tumor resection is the only long-term cure in IVC Leiomyosarcomas patients, and predictive factors for clinical outcome are identified.
Abstract: In 1992 The International Registry of Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Leiomyosarcomas was established to study the pathogenesis and natural history of the tumor and to support the most rational treatment. We collected 218 patients through a literature review and personal communications. We corresponded with several Authors to obtain up-to-date follow-up and any other data lacking at the initial review. The series was analyzed to identify predictive factors for clinical outcome. Tumors arose from the IVC lower segment in 80 patients, from the middle in 94 and from the upper in 41. A radical tumor resection was undertaken in 134 (61.5%) patients, 26 (11.9%) had a palliative resection and 58 (26.6%) were inoperable. An increased risk of death was associated with upper IVC segment involvement (p 0.04 respectively). Despite the high rate of recurrence, radical tumor resection is the only long-term cure.
TL;DR: Improved limits on WIMP search have been obtained by the pulse shape analysis of the data collected with a large-mass low-radioactivity NaI(Tl) set-up at Gran Sasso National Laboratory as discussed by the authors.
TL;DR: Recent data from different fields of neuroscience offer the basis for a new definition of the cortical system subserving reaching and for a reconsideration of the nature of the underlying visuo-to-motor transformation.
Abstract: Reaching movements are performed in order to bring the hand to targets of interest It is widely believed that the distributed cortical network underlying visual reaching transforms the information concerning the spatial location of the target into an appropriate motor command. Modern views decompose this process into sequences of coordinate transformations between informational domains. The set of cortical areas and pathways by which the information on target location is relayed from the visual areas of the occipital lobe to the motor areas of the frontal lobe have, so far, been poorly understood. Recent data from different fields of neuroscience offer the basis for a new definition of the cortical system subserving reaching and, at the same time, for a reconsideration of the nature of the underlying visuoto-motor transformation. We live and move within a complex three-dimensional world anchored to objects that we identify and locate in space by using vision. The way visual information is used to guide arm movements toward objects of interest has been a problem of perennial interest in neuroscience. This problem can be decomposed into two related questions, the first of which concerns the anatomical substrata whereby visual information reach the motor apparatus. The second relates to the form of this information when it becomes available to the motor centers; that is, to the transformations from visual to motor coordinates believed to occur at the interfaces between vision and movement. At the present time, both of these questions remain, for the most part, unanswered. However, in the last 10 years, apparently unrelated studies have offered vast material that have significantly changed traditional views on this subject. In this article we will review studies concerning the cortical pathways by which visual information can influence the areas of the distributed cortical system (Mountcastle, 1978) that underlie visual reaching, in an attempt to offer a comprehensive overview of this subject. The organization of these pathways strongly influences the functional processes by which visual information is used in the composition of motor commands.
TL;DR: In this paper, a simple derivation of the stochastic equation obeyed by the density function for a system of Langevin processes interacting via a pairwise potential is presented, which is considerably different from the phenomenological equations usually used to describe the dynamics of nonconserved (model A) and conserved (model B) particle systems.
Abstract: We present a simple derivation of the stochastic equation obeyed by the density function for a system of Langevin processes interacting via a pairwise potential. The resulting equation is considerably different from the phenomenological equations usually used to describe the dynamics of non-conserved (model A) and conserved (model B) particle systems. The major feature is that the spatial white noise for this system appears not additively but multiplicatively. This simply expresses the fact that the density cannot fluctuate in regions devoid of particles. The steady state for the density function may, however, still be recovered formally as a functional integral over the coursed grained free energy of the system as in models A and B.
TL;DR: Controversy regarding the relative efficacy of treatments for the relief of the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is investigated.
Abstract: BACKGROUND
Controversy regarding the relative efficacy of treatments for the relief of the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
METHODS
This was a 6-month double-blind randomized equivalence study that compared the effects of a plant extract (320 mg Permixon®) with those of a 5α-reductase inhibitor (5 mg finasteride) in 1,098 men with moderate BPH using the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) as the primary end-point.
RESULTS
Both Permixon® and finasteride decreased the IPSS (−37% and −39%, respectively), improved quality of life (by 38 and 41%), and increased peak urinary flow rate (+25% and +30%, P = 0.035), with no statistical difference in the percent of responders with a 3 ml/sec improvement. Finasteride markedly decreased prostate volume (−18%) and serum PSA levels (−41%); Permixon® improved symptoms with little effect on volume (−6%) and no change in PSA levels. Permixon® fared better than finasteride in a sexual function questionnaire and gave rise to less complaints of decreased libido and impotence.
CONCLUSIONS
Both treatments relieve the symptoms of BPH in about two-thirds of patients but, unlike finasteride, Permixon® has little effect on so-called androgen-dependent parameters. This suggests that other pathways might also be involved in the symptomatology of BPH. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
TL;DR: Re-evaluating results obtained from animal models of depression based on experimental stressors in the light of the most recent data indicate a strong relationship between these neurochemical and behavioural effects and suggest that they could model stress-induced expression and exacerbation of some depressive symptoms.
Abstract: The present review was aimed at re-evaluating results obtained from animal models of depression based on experimental stressors in the light of the most recent data on the effects of stress on mesolimbic dopamine (DA) functioning. The data reviewed reveal that the effects of stressful experiences on behaviour and on mesoaccumbens DA functioning can be very different or even opposite depending on the behavioural controllability of the situation, the genetic background of the organism and its life history. Exposure to a single unavoidable/uncontrollable aversive experience leads to inhibition of DA release in the accumbens as well as to impaired responding to rewarding and aversive stimuli. Moreover, the data reviewed indicate a strong relationship between these neurochemical and behavioural effects and suggest that they could model stress-induced expression and exacerbation of some depressive symptoms such as anhedonia and feeling of helplessness caused by life events as well as syndromal depression provoked by traumatic experiences in humans. Repeated and chronic stressful experiences can reduce the ability of stressors to disrupt behaviour, induce behavioural sensitisation to psychostimulants and promote adaptive changes of mesolimbic DA functioning. Opposite neural and behavioural changes, however, can be promoted in specific environmental conditions (repeated variable stressful experiences) or in genetically predisposed individuals. Thus, depressive symptoms may not represent the necessary outcome of stress experiences but be promoted by specific environmental conditions and by a genetically determined susceptibility.