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Biomedical subjects

P Ekman

Publications and source records attributed to P Ekman.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Urine-TPA (tissue polypeptide antigen), flow cytometry and cytology as markers for tumor invasiveness in urinary bladder carcinoma.

Urine-Tissue Polypeptide Antigen (U-TPA) was measured in 81 patients with a previously diagnosed bladder carcinoma. U-TPA was elevated in 74% of the patients with invasive bladder cancer as compared to only 15% of the patients with superficial tumors. Only one patient without a tumor recurrence had an elevated U-TPA level (4%). The results were compared with cytological grading and flow-DNA measurements in a multivariate analysis with T-category as the result variable. U-TPA and grade showed each, independently, a significant relation (P much less than 0.001) to T-category whereas the result of the DNA measurements did not explain the variation in T-category when U-TPA and grade were already in the equation. For diagnostic purposes U-TPA seems to be of limited value but may serve as an indicator of tumor recurrence in bladder cancer patients.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗
PubMed1989

Posed emotional expression in unilateral brain damaged patients.

The facial expressions of six basic emotions were posed by two groups of right (N = 23) and left (N = 34) brain damaged patients and by a control group of normal subjects (N = 28). The posed expressions were examined by means of the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) which provides analytical and objective scoring, as by a subjective scale of appropriateness of expression. Results indicated no difference between controls and patients with a lesion in the right or left hemisphere. These findings are inconsistent with the hypothesis that the right hemisphere plays a specific role in the control of posed facial expression. No relationship was observed between posed emotional expressions and facial paralysis or the presence of oral apraxia.

Affect↗
PubMed1988

Phosphorylation of glucokinase from rat liver in vitro by protein kinase A with a concomitant decrease of its activity.

Glucokinase, purified from rat liver, was phosphorylated to an extent of 1 mol [32P]-phosphate/mol of enzyme when incubated with [32P]ATP and protein kinase A from pig or rabbit muscle. The phosphate was bound to serine residues. K0.5 increased and Vmax decreased upon phosphorylation. The phosphate group was removed during incubation of the phosphorylated glucokinase with alkaline phosphatase. Enzymatically inactive glucokinase was not phosphorylated by the protein kinase.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Spontaneous facial expression of emotions in brain-damaged patients.

Spontaneous facial expression of emotion was studied in two groups of right (N = 23) and left (N = 39) brain-damaged patients and in a control group of normal subjects (N = 28). To elicit emotions four short movies, constructed to produce positive, negative or neutral emotional responses, were used. The method used to assess the facial expression of emotions was the Facial Action Coding System. Brain-damaged patients showed less facial responses to emotional stimuli than normal controls, but no difference was observed between subjects with right and left-sided lesions either with global or disaggregated data analyses, inconsistent with the hypothesis of a specialization of the right hemisphere for facial emotional expressions. An unexpected difference was observed in response to the unpleasant movie. Both normal controls and left brain-damaged patients often averted their gaze from the screen when unpleasant material was displayed, whereas right brain-damaged patients rarely showed gaze aversion. This finding suggests that the degree of emotional involvement or manner of coping with stressful input may be reduced as a result of right brain damage.

Affect↗
PubMed1988

Smiles when lying.

Subtle differences among forms of smiling distinguished when subjects were truthful and when they lied about experiencing pleasant feelings. Expressions that included muscular activity around the eyes in addition to the smiling lips occurred more often when people were actually enjoying themselves as compared with when enjoyment was feigned to conceal negative emotions. Smiles that included traces of muscular actions associated with disgust, fear, contempt, or sadness occurred more often when subjects were trying to mask negative emotions with a happy mask. When these differences among types of smiling were ignored and smiling was treated as a unitary phenomenon, there was no difference between truthful and deceptive behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

The role of context in interpreting facial expression: comment on Russell and Fehr (1987).

In their article, "Relativity in the Perception of Emotion in Facial Expressions," Russell and Fehr (1987) argued that context is the principal determinant in interpreting facial expressions of emotion. They questioned the biological bases for emotion suggested by Darwin and supported by many cross-cultural studies. We suggest that their results occurred because the target faces they used were emotionally neutral or ambiguous. We also argue that their findings can be interpreted as supporting the communicative importance of the face.

Cross-Cultural Comparison↗
PubMed1988

Aspects on reference values for tumor markers in human prostatic carcinoma.

The efficiency of the tumor markers prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), prostate-specific antigen (PSA), neopterin, and osteocalcin was tested with regard to their ability to predict cancer death within 2 years plus survival beyond 2 years in a series of patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer. For all markers, an elevated level suggested a tumor with a worse prognosis. Moreover, the extent to which the level was increased carried additional information. The prognostic efficiency was routinely improved by selecting cutoff levels higher than the standards suggested by the radioimmunoassay (RIA) kit manufacturers. Seventy-four percent of the patients with elevated levels of neopterin were still alive after 2 years when 8 nmol/L was selected as the upper normal value compared to only 43% at 12 nmol/L. At a cut-off value of 3 micrograms/L for osteocalcin, 79% of the patients with elevated levels were still alive after 2 years compared with only 20% when 7 micrograms/L was selected. Such adjustments to higher cutoff levels could be made without increasing the number of "false-negatives." The efficiency of PAP to predict short-term prognosis was poor at the standard cutoff level of 1.9 microgram/L. Not until 20 micrograms/L was selected did the efficiency exceed 80%. PSA was highly sensitive but little specific at any of the cutoff levels tested with regard to ability to indicate prognosis.

1-Carboxyglutamic Acid↗
PubMed1988

On reference values for tumor markers in prostatic carcinoma.

Serum contents of prostatic acid phosphatase, neopterin, osteocalcin, tissue polypeptide antigen and CA-50 were measured before onset of treatment in 83 patients suffering from prostatic carcinoma. In an attempt to identify patients with poor prognosis the data were related to patient survival after 2 years. It was found that the standard cut off values, obtained from the upper limits of normal, healthy subjects, were sensitive but had low specificity. A better relation to prognosis was usually found at a higher discrimination limit. The degree of elevation appears more important than the elevation of the markers as such in indicating a poor prognosis. By systematic adjustment of the discrimination levels, higher specificity can be obtained with little loss of sensitivity.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed1987

Effects of epinephrine, glucagon and insulin on the activity and degree of phosphorylation of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase in cultured hepatocytes.

The effects of epinephrine, glucagon and insulin on the activity and degree of phosphorylation of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase in isolated hepatocytes maintained in cell culture for 24 h were investigated. Epinephrine caused a rapid decrease in the apparent Km monitored as the activity ratio between the activity at 12.5 and 83 microM fructose-1,6-bisphosphate, reaching a maximum after 5 min. Glucagon caused a slower and less pronounced activation, and insulin caused an equally slow increase in Km. The effect of epinephrine and glucagon was completely reciprocated by insulin and the action of insulin was totally erased by the other two. Glucagon stimulated the incorporation of [32P]phosphate into fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase from about 2.5 to 4.2 mol/mol enzyme and epinephrine to 3.5 mol/mol. The effect of the two hormones acting together was cumulative. Insulin brought about a decrease in the degree of phosphorylation to 2.0 mol/mol. The effect of epinephrine was shown to be caused by the beta-receptors, since it was completely blocked by propanolol (a beta-antagonist) and remained unaffected by the presence of phentolamine (an alpha-antagonist).

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA), some cytokeratins and epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) in normal, inflamed and malignant urothelium.

The distribution of tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA), epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) and various cytokeratins was studied with immunohistochemical techniques in malignant, normal and inflamed urothelium. TPA and cytokeratins 8, 18 and 19 were similarly distributed and there was no difference between benign and malignant conditions. All keratins were most abundant in the outer cell layers of the urothelium. EMA was present primarily in the so called umbrella cells. Increased levels of TPA in urine and serum are found in patients with urothelial carcinoma. TPA is reported to be related to the cytoskeletal keratins and its presence definitely does not imply malignant transformation as we have demonstrated it in both benign and malignant urothelium. The increased levels of TPA in urine and serum are probably due to a more rapid turnover and autolysis of cells and may parallel a more aggressive tumor behaviour.

Antibodies↗
PubMed1987

Imitation of facial movements in brain damaged patients.

The imitation of a large repertoire of upper and lower facial actions was requested from a group of left, right brain damaged and control subjects in order to explore: (1) if a left or right hemispheric focal lesion produces a similar pattern of impairment on this task; (2) if the impairment is associated with oral apraxia. The results show that left and right brain damaged patients score significantly lower than controls but the two pathologic groups do not differ from each other. The imitation of facial movements is not related in any way to oral apraxia and no specific localization of the lesion seems responsible for the impairment in this task. It is suggested that the control of facial movements might have a multiple representation in either hemisphere.

Apraxias↗
PubMed1987

Universals and cultural differences in the judgments of facial expressions of emotion.

We present here new evidence of cross-cultural agreement in the judgement of facial expression. Subjects in 10 cultures performed a more complex judgment task than has been used in previous cross-cultural studies. Instead of limiting the subjects to selecting only one emotion term for each expression, this task allowed them to indicate that multiple emotions were evident and the intensity of each emotion. Agreement was very high across cultures about which emotion was the most intense. The 10 cultures also agreed about the second most intense emotion signaled by an expression and about the relative intensity among expressions of the same emotion. However, cultural differences were found in judgments of the absolute level of emotional intensity.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Transurethral ureteroscopy. Safety guide wire as an aid to a more aggressive approach.

In an unselected, consecutive series of patients, ureteroscopy was carried out for removal or manipulation of stones in 48 patients and for evaluation of suspected ureteric tumours in two. A success rate of 92% was achieved. The use of an intra-ureteric safety guide wire, indwelling throughout the procedure, facilitated ureteroscopic manipulation, minimised complications, reduced the need for subsequent open surgery and has been a prerequisite for our comparatively aggressive approach to ureteric disorders. The procedure may be time-consuming but prolonged manipulation within the ureter seems to carry little morbidity.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

The quantity of protein-bound [32P]phosphotyrosine in hepatocytes and fibroblasts. The effects of tyrosine protein kinase activating agents.

Tyrosine protein kinase activities have been demonstrated in transformed and normal cell systems. So far, few data on the quantity of protein-bound phosphotyrosine in intact cells have been published. A knowledge of the stoichiometric increase in phosphotyrosine in cells after hormonal induction could be of interest when evaluating the importance of the tyrosine protein kinase activities found. By the addition of a known amount of unlabeled phosphotyrosine to the precipitated protein of 32P-phosphate-labeled cells it was possible after alkaline hydrolysis to spectrophotometrically follow the phosphotyrosine during consecutive chromatographies of the material. From the specific radioactivity of the purified phosphotyrosine the initial concentration of [32P]phosphotyrosine could be calculated. The method proved to be useful for the determination of [32P]phosphotyrosine is small amounts of cells. The minimum detectable amount of [32P]phosphotyrosine was about 1 pmol, and as an example, only 2.5 X 10(6) fibroblasts were needed. By this method it was shown that platelet-derived growth factor increased protein-bound [32P]phosphotyrosine from 600 to 3,200 pmol/g of fibroblasts, while insulin only increased the [32P]phosphotyrosine from 110 to 120 pmol/g of hepatocytes.

Cells, Cultured↗
PubMed1986

In vitro phosphorylation of serum albumin by two protein kinases: a potential pitfall in protein phosphorylation reactions.

Bovine albumin was phosphorylated by both cAMP-dependent protein kinase and casein kinase I to a significant extent. Other albumins were also tested and it was found that the extent of phosphorylation varied with the species of origin of the albumin, but was between 1 and 3 mol phosphate per mole albumin for the cAMP-dependent protein kinase-catalyzed reactions. The phosphorylation occurred at and above pH 7.5 and required the presence of thiol reagents. Phosphoamino acid analyses of bovine albumin showed that it was phosphorylated on at least two serine residues. The phosphorylation could not be demonstrated in vivo.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Serum levels of neopterin as related to the prognosis of human prostatic carcinoma.

In 93 patients suffering from prostatic cancer, serum levels of neopterin, a pteridine reflecting activation of the immune defence system, were measured at the time of diagnosis and 6 and 12 months after treatment with orchidectomy or estrogens. Neopterin levels were initially greater than 10 nM/l in 27% of the patients and in this group tumor recurrences occurred in 28% as compared to 7% in the group with neopterin less than 10 nM/l. No apparent correlation between tumor stage and grade and neopterin levels could be demonstrated. Neopterin levels decreased significantly after onset of treatment (p less than 0.001), which implicates a hormone dependence. But still patients with initially elevated serum neopterin levels, and thus an assumed activated immune defence system at the time of diagnosis, had lower survival rates than those without elevated neopterin levels (p less than 0.001). It is concluded that elevated levels of neopterin in serum is a sign of poor prognosis in human prostatic cancer.

Aged↗
PubMed1985

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase from rat liver. A comparison of the kinetics of the unphosphorylated enzyme and the enzyme phosphorylated by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase.

A purification procedure for rat hepatic fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, described earlier, has been improved, resulting in an enzyme preparation with a neutral pH optimum and with both phosphorylatable serine residues present. The subunit Mr was 40,000. Phosphorylation in vitro with cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase resulted in the incorporation of 1.4 mol of phosphate/mol of subunit and led to an almost 2-fold decrease in apparent Km for fructose-1,6-bisphosphate. In contrast to yeast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, fructose-2,6-bisphosphate had no effect on the rate of phosphorylation or dephosphorylation of the intact enzyme. The effects of the composition of the assay medium, with regard to buffering substance and Mg2+ concentration, on the apparent Km values of phosphorylated and unphosphorylated enzyme were investigated. The kinetics of phosphorylated and unphosphorylated fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase were studied with special reference to the inhibitory effects of adenine nucleotides and fructose-2,6-bisphosphate. Unphosphorylated fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase was more susceptible to inhibition by both AMP and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate than phosphorylated enzyme, at high and low substrate concentrations. Both ATP and ADP had a similar effect on the two enzyme forms, ADP being the more potent inhibitor. Finally, the combined effect of several inhibitors at physiological concentrations was studied. Under conditions resembling the gluconeogenic state, phosphorylated fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase was found to have twice the activity of the unphosphorylated enzyme.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗