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Biomedical subjects

P Cormier

Publications and source records attributed to P Cormier.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

The right-hemisphere bias in conditional reasoning: a short report on multiple failures to replicate previous findings.

The present set of studies attempted to replicate Gellatly's (1985) findings that were supportive of Evan's (1982) hypothesis that the right hemisphere produces a selective bias towards the incorrect solution of a complex reasoning task. Subjects solved problems of the form "if p then q." In four studies, participants simultaneously performed a bottle--balancing task on each hand to interfere with processing of the reasoning task in the right hemisphere. In the fifth study, the bottle--balancing task was replaced by a finger--sequencing task. The results of the five studies did not show that the interference with right-hemisphere activity resulted in better performance on the conditional-reasoning task. It is concluded that the hypothesis of a right-hemisphere bias in conditional reasoning is still in need of reliable findings.

Attention

Phosphorylation of Xenopus elongation factor-1 gamma by cdc2 protein kinase: identification of the phosphorylation site.

The cdc2 protein kinase phosphorylates elongation factor-1 gamma (EF-1 gamma) during meiotic maturation of Xenopus oocytes. A synthetic peptide P2: PKKETPKKEKPA matching the cDNA-deduced sequence of EF-1 gamma was an in vitro substrate for cdc2 protein kinase and inhibited phosphorylation of EF-1 gamma. Tryptic hydrolysis of EF-1 gamma and the P2 peptide, both phosphorylated by cdc2 protein kinase, resulted in multiple partial digestion products generated by the presence of barely hydrolysable bonds. The two peptides obtained from the hydrolysis of EF-1 gamma comigrated exactly in two-dimensional separation with two of the P2 peptide hydrolysates. EF-1 gamma therefore contains one unique phosphoacceptor for cdc2 protein kinase, identified as threonine-230.

Amino Acid Sequence

Protein phosphatase 2A from Xenopus oocytes. Characterization during meiotic cell division.

A polyclonal antibody was raised against bacterially produced catalytic alpha subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2AC) cloned from Xenopus ovarian library. The amount of PP2AC in Xenopus oocytes determined by Western blot analysis was 1 ng/microgram of cytosolic protein. The antibody depleted PP2AC from oocyte extracts in association with 6 components (40, 62, 65, 80, 85 and 90 kDa). Prophase- and metaphase-arrested oocytes contained identical amounts of PP2AC. Metaphase oocytes showed one specific change in the 62 kDa protein associated with PP2AC.

Amino Acid Sequence

Analysis of risk factors for surgical wound infections following vascular surgery.

Although surgical wound infections (SWI) following implantation of prosthetic devices can be catastrophic and often require removal of the prosthesis, few studies have identified risk factors for these infections. We conducted a prospective multicenter study to identify risk factors for SWI. Of 561 vascular surgery patients enrolled in the study, 23 (4.1%) developed SWI. Multivariate analysis using logistic regression analyses identified surgery on lower extremities, delayed surgery, diabetes mellitus, past history of vascular surgery, and short antimicrobial prophylaxis (three doses of cefamandole) as independent risk factors for SWI. Consequences of SWI were serious; two (9%) died, 11 (48%) required reoperation, and five (22%) had their prosthesis removed. A risk index was developed using the independent risk factors for SWI identified by logistic regression analyses. When no risk factors were present, no SWI was observed (0 of 100), and the rate of SWI increased from 2.5% when one risk factor was present to 53.8% (7 of 13) when greater than or equal to 4 risk factors were present.

Cefamandole

Instruction effects on gender differences in visual field advantages during lexical decision tasks.

Two experiments explored the effects of speed, accuracy, on speed and accuracy instructions on visual field advantages to lexical decisions in males and females. In Experiment 1, right visual field advantages in reaction time appeared in the groups of males in the accuracy condition and in the speed and accuracy condition. In Experiment 2, feedback consistent with the instructions was given to subjects. Females and males in the accuracy condition showed a right visual field advantage in the second block of trials. These findings suggest that cognitive variables mediate right visual field advantages to lexical decisions in males and females.

Adult

Contribution of perceptual and lexical-semantic errors to the naming impairments in Alzheimer's disease.

The contribution of perceptual and semantic processing deficits to naming-test performance by Alzheimer's Disease subjects was examined. Groups of 34 Alzheimer subjects and 25 elderly controls completed tests of naming standard line drawings and naming perceptually degraded figures, and a test of verbal fluency for a specific semantic category. Alzheimer subjects were impaired on all measures and, when their naming-test errors were analyzed, they showed higher proportions of perceptual errors and failures to respond. Further, considerable variability in the proportions of different types of error was found both among subjects and among test items. These findings indicate that poor naming-test performance cannot necessarily be attributed to a specific deficit in semantic processing. Also, the discrepancies between previous reports of the naming deficits in Alzheimer's Disease may reflect differences in task difficulty and item selection that were apparent in this study.

Aged

M-phase-specific cdc2 protein kinase phosphorylates the beta subunit of casein kinase II and increases casein kinase II activity.

The M-phase-specific cdc2 (cell division control) protein kinase (a component of the M-phase-promoting factor) was found to activate casein kinase II in vitro. The increase in casein kinase II activity ranged over 1.5-5-fold. Increase in activity was prevented if ATP was replaced during the activation reaction by a non-hydrolysable analogue. Alkaline phosphatase treatment of the activated enzyme decreased the activity to the basal level. The beta subunit of casein kinase II was phosphorylated by cdc2 protein kinase at site(s) different from the autophosphorylation sites of the enzyme. Phosphoamino acid analysis showed that the beta subunit was phosphorylated by cdc2 protein kinase at threonine residues while autophosphorylation involved serine residues. Casein kinase II may be part of the cascade which leads to increased phosphorylation of many proteins at M-phase and therefore be involved in the pleiotropic effects of M-phase-promoting factor.

Adenosine Triphosphate

In vivo progesterone regulation of protein phosphatase activity in Xenopus oocytes.

Exogenous beta casein, previously phosphorylated in vitro by protein kinase A and casein kinase II, was microinjected into Xenopus oocytes to monitor in vivo protein phosphatase activities. Phosphatase activities were 1.6 and 3.4 fmol/min/oocyte, respectively, for beta casein phosphorylated by casein kinase II and beta casein phosphorylated by protein kinase A. Progesterone induced an early decrease (35% after 10 min) in phosphatase activity restricted to the protein kinase A sites of beta casein.

Animals

Protein phosphorylation during meiotic maturation of Xenopus oocytes: cdc2 protein kinase targets.

M-Phase specific protein kinase or cdc2 protein kinase is a component of MPF (M-Phase promoting factor). During meiotic maturation of Xenopus oocytes, cdc2 protein kinase is activated in correlation with MPF activity. A protein phosphorylation cascade takes place involving several protein kinases, among which casein kinase II, and different changes associated with meiosis occur such as germinal vesicle breakdown, chromosome condensation, cytoskeletal reorganization and increase in protein synthesis. Our results provide a biochemical link between cdc2 protein kinase and protein synthesis since they show that the kinase phosphorylates in vitro a p47 protein identified as elongation factor EF1 (gamma subunit) and that the in vitro site of p47 corresponds to the site phosphorylated in vivo. Immunofluorescence showed that the elongation factor (EF1-beta gamma) is localized in the oocyte cortex. Furthermore, they show that cdc2 kinase phosphorylates and activates casein kinase II in vitro, strongly supporting the view that casein kinase II is involved in the phosphorylation cascade originated by cdc2 kinase.

Animals

[Thrombophlebitis of the ovarian veins. A case report. Review of the literature].

The authors report on one case of thrombophlebitis of the two ovarian veins complicated by thrombosis of the vena cava inferior after a septic abortion. The diagnosis suggested by the persistence of symptoms of a severe pelvic infection was confirmed using computerized axial tomography. Faced with a clot floating in the vena cava inferior, a Greenfield filter was placed subrenally and combined with antibiotic therapy and IV heparin therapy. Clinical symptoms resolved but the scanographic image of thrombosis of the vena cava persisted after 7 months of treatment. This is a rare disease which is currently easy to diagnose, thanks to computerized axial tomography and nuclear magnetic resonance.

Abortion, Septic

Purification of a p47 phosphoprotein from Xenopus laevis oocytes and identification as an in vivo and in vitro p34cdc2 substrate.

This paper describes the purification of a 47 kDa protein from Xenopus laevis oocytes that becomes phosphorylated when the oocytes undergo meiotic maturation. This protein (p47) is part of a high molecular mass complex containing at least two other proteins of molecular mass 30 and 36 kDa. This complex can be isolated from stage VI oocytes before maturation. We obtained a pattern for phosphopeptides in p47 phosphorylated in vivo very similar to that of the purified protein phosphorylated in vitro by p34cdc2 (a H1 kinase which is a component of the M-phase promoting factor) and [gamma-32P]ATP. Therefore, the purified p47, already described as a marker of MPF activity, is the first reported in vivo substrate for the cell division control kinase.

Adenosine Triphosphate

Involvement of protein kinase A and casein kinase II in the in vivo protein kinase activities in prophase arrested Xenopus oocytes.

In vivo beta casein phosphorylation was analysed in Xenopus full-grown oocytes arrested in the prophase of the meiotic cell division. The phosphorylation was inhibited by the protein kinase inhibitor (PKI) and also by heparin (3 micrograms/ml; final concentration). beta casein phosphorylation was increased by spermine (2 mM). Therefore, protein kinase A and casein kinase II are both active in vivo in full-grown oocytes and may be involved in the prophase arrest of meiotic cell division.

Animals

A componential model for mental addition.

A componential model capable of representing simple and complex forms of mental addition was proposed and then tested by using chronometric techniques. A sample of 23 undergraduate students responded to 800 addition problems in a true-false reaction time paradigm. The 800 problems comprised 200 problems of each of four types: two single-digit addends, one single- and one double-digit addend, two double-digit addends, and three single-digit addends. The results revealed that the columnwise product of addends, a structural variable consistent with a memory network retrieval process, was the best predictor of mental addition for each of the four types of problem. Importantly, the componential model allowed estimation of effects of several other structural variables, e.g., carrying to the next column and speed of encoding of digits. High levels of explained variance verified the power of the model to represent the reaction time data, and the stability of estimates across types of problem implied consistent component use by subjects. Implications for research on mental addition are discussed.

Adolescent

[Hyperthermia during labor. Role of peridural analgesia].

Over a period of 4 months, the authors have observed 414 deliveries, including 30 which presented a hyperthermia exceeding or equal to 37.8 degrees C (7.2%). 27 hyperthermias occurred under peridural analgesia. The thermogenic effect of this loco-regional anesthesia seems debatable since it occurs at an early stage, is transient and has a peripheral effect. The fever noted during labor indicates, most of the time, an infection. Peridural analgesia is advocated in most primiparous patients as well as in imperative labor inducements. Sometimes, this permits accepting a longer-lasting labor, exposing the patient to the risk of amniotic infection.

Adult