The ups and downs of parting COMPany. Poly-aspartic acid tract instability: a novel expansion-contraction mutation.
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The European Respiratory Society guidelines on bronchial provocation testing have proposed time-saving procedures, which may lead to unwanted exaggerated responses. The frequency and determinants of exaggerated bronchoconstriction in response to methacholine inhalation testing in clinical and epidemiological settings have not been assessed. The authors evaluated: 1) the prevalence of exaggerated bronchoconstriction, 2) its relation to time-saving measures (starting methacholine concentration and skipping concentrations); and 3) associations between such reactions and risk factors, respiratory symptoms and/or lung function parameters. Clinical (n=408) and epidemiological (n=711) groups were included. Exaggerated bronchoconstriction was defined as either a fall > or =20% following saline or a > or =30% fall in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) after methacholine inhalations. Cases were compared with two groups of subjects: 1) with measurable bronchial responsiveness (MBR); and 2) without MBR. In the epidemiological group, 84 subjects (12%) presented exaggerated bronchoconstriction. Skipped concentrations accounted for an exaggerated bronchoconstriction in 18 of these. In the clinical group, 41 subjects (10%) experienced exaggerated reactions. Skipped concentrations accounted for an exaggerated bronchoconstriction in five of these. The provocative concentration of methacholine causing a 20% fall in FEV1 values were marginally lower in subjects with exaggerated bronchoconstriction. Questionnaire analysis in epidemiological subjects showed some symptoms of asthma and rhinitis to be more prevalent in cases than in subjects without MBR. In conclusion, methacholine inhalation tests with time-saving measures result in a 10% risk of exaggerated bronchoconstriction as defined in this study and bronchial responsiveness is more prominent in subjects with exaggerated bronchoconstriction.
In contradistinction from certain strains of mice, contact allergy in man is hypothesized to be either lifelong or at least to last for years. We examined follow-up studies on contact allergy, as evaluated by patch testing, attempting to quantify its natural history. The allergens include colophonium, gold sodium thiosulfate, nickel, and cobalt. At present, due to technical limitations, we cannot state in quantitative terms whether contact allergy in man is lifelong and whether its clinical manifestations change. Thus, we list some criteria for future studies which may help resolve the above question.
Research on social comparison processes has assumed that a comparison in a given direction (upward or downward) will lead to a particular affective reaction. In contrast, the present two studies proposed and found that a comparison can produce either positive or negative feelings about oneself, independent of its direction. Several factors moderated the tendency to derive positive or negative affect from upward and downward comparisons. In Study 1, cancer patients low in self-esteem and with low perceived control over their symptoms and illness were more likely to see downward comparisons as having negative implications for themselves. Those low in self-esteem were also more likely to perceive upward comparisons as negative. In Study 2, individuals with high marital dissatisfaction and those who felt uncertain about their marital relationship were more likely to experience negative affect from upward and downward comparisons. The implications of these findings for social comparison theory and for the coping and adaptation literature are discussed.
Four studies investigated the prefactual (alternative preoutcome predictions) and counterfactual (alternative postoutcome "what might have beens") mental simulations of defensive pessimists and optimists. In Study 1, defensive pessimists engaged in upward (better than expected) prefactual thinking, whereas optimists engaged in downward (worse than actuality) counterfactual thinking in reaction to a course exam. In Study 2, defensive pessimists preferred upward prefactual thinking and optimists preferred no prefactual thinking when prefactual thoughts were directly manipulated. In Studies 3 and 4, defensive pessimists and optimists differed in reactions to manipulated success and failure, and these reactions were further moderated by the opportunity to engage in prefactual thinking and the possibility of a second try. Individual differences in strategies of prefactual and counterfactual thinking are discussed.
This research examined the association between relationship satisfaction and later breakup status, focusing on the temporal changes in satisfaction ratings of individuals in newly formed dating relationships. Growth curve analytic techniques were used in 2 longitudinal studies to create 4 predictors: each participant's initial level of satisfaction, linear trend in satisfaction over time, degree of fluctuation in satisfaction over time, and mean level of satisfaction. Consistent with hypotheses, individuals who exhibited greater fluctuation in their repeated satisfaction ratings were more likely to be in relationships that eventually ended, even after controlling for overall level of satisfaction. Individuals with fluctuating levels of satisfaction also reported relatively lower commitment. The results are discussed in terms of conditions that promote versus undermine relationship stability.
The typical catalepsy test consists of placing an animal into an unusual posture and recording the time taken to correct this posture. This time is regarded as an index of the intensity of catalepsy. Catalepsy is a robust behavior, and the lack of standardization does not usually hinder its actual detection. However, the intensity of the cataleptic effect is influenced by minor methodological differences, and thus interpretation and comparison of results across laboratories are difficult. The behavioral catalepsy test can use any of several different apparatus, including wire grids, parallel bars, platforms, or pegs, to situate the animals in unusual positions. The most common, however, is the "bar test," and despite its wide use in psychopharmacological research, even parameters of this test are not standardized. The present article reviews the wide variety of parameters chosen by investigators that measure catalepsy. The methodological issues of repeated testing, scaling of scores, apparatus, animal weight, maximal test duration, behavioral criteria, and other influences are discussed. In addition, a brief review of the neuropharmacological basis of catalepsy is also included. Finally, it is argued that a universal, standardized bar test be adopted by researchers. New data on a novel automated bar test in the Digiscan Activity Monitoring System is presented.
Social comparisons influence self-evaluations in multiple ways. Sometimes self-evaluations are assimilated toward a given standard. At other times, they are contrasted away from the standard. On the basis of the selective accessibility model (T. Mussweiler, 2003a), the authors hypothesized that assimilation results if judges engage in the comparison process of similarity testing and selectively focus on similarities to the standard, whereas contrast occurs if judges engage in dissimilarity testing and selectively focus on differences. If these alternative comparison mechanisms are indeed at play, then assimilative and contrastive social comparisons should be accompanied by diverging informational foci on similarities versus differences. Results of 5 studies support this reasoning, demonstrating that assimilation results under conditions that foster similarity testing, whereas contrast occurs under conditions that foster dissimilarity testing. Furthermore, assimilative social comparisons are accompanied by a general informational focus on similarities, whereas contrastive comparisons are accompanied by a focus on differences.
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