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At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

A critical review of Chinese Koro.

Koro is generally considered a culture-bound psychiatric syndrome, the dominant feature of which is anxiety or dissociation. A close examination of koro epidemics in China, where koro cases appear to be more frequent than other parts of the world, shows that koro has a sociocultural component which has not been sufficiently taken into account in previous formulations. This article analyzes koro in the natural environment in which it appears and dispels the notion of koro being individual psychopathology. Koro, at least the way it is manifested in China, is a social malady maintained by cultural beliefs which affect the whole community and not just those diagnosed with it. Further directions for research into the subject are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

On the origin of mass casualty incidents in Kosovo, Yugoslavia, in 1990.

In March 1990, a mysterious outbreak of illness spread suddenly among thousands of ethnic Albanian high school students in Kosovo (Yugoslavia). It was an unprecedented event on the worldwide scale both in terms of the number of cases and in terms of controversies concerning the aetiology. A retrospective analysis indicated that the epidemic consisted mainly of cases who felt ill in the absence of exposure to any physical agent. It is suggested that in an atmosphere of severe tension between the two ethnic groups living in Kosovo an increased frequency of respiratory infections may have triggered mass sociogenic illness.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

False allegations of satanic abuse: case studies from the witch panic in Rättvik 1670-71.

The creation of false memories, psychiatric symptoms and false allegations of satanic child abuse during an outbreak of witch hysteria in Sweden in the seventeenth century are described and related to contemporary issues in child testimonies. Case studies of 28 children and 14 adults are presented. The mechanisms underlying the spread of these allegations, as well as the reactions and influence of the adult world on the children's testimonies, are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

An investigation of apparent mass psychogenic illness in an electronics plant.

An investigation of a case of apparent mass psychogenic illness was undertaken in a midwestern electronics assembly plant. The plant employed 500 workers, of whom 80% were female. The illness outbreak involved a total of 90 female first shift workers who reported a variety of nonspecific symptoms such as headache, dizziness, and lightheadedness in response to a strange odor in the workplace. Although environmental testing revealed some localized concentrations of a few airbone contaminants, no environmental toxins were discovered that could account for the continuing outbreaks of illness. An ad hoc sample of affected and nonaffected workers was surveyed to assess the influence of psychological, sociological, and work environment factors in the outbreak. Analysis of the data revealed that affected workers reported more physical discomfort (temperature variations, poor lighting) in the workplace as well as psychological job stress (increase in workload, conflicts with supervisors) than did nonaffected workers. Moreover, affected workers scored significantly higher than nonaffected workers on personality tests measuring extraversion and hysteria traits.

Electronics↗
PubMed1986

High-school smoking prevention: results of a three-year longitudinal study.

This study compared two strategies for preventing cigarette smoking among high-school students. One strategy emphasized social-pressure resistance skills, while the other focused on education about health concerns which are relevant to high-school students. Additionally, the use of same-age peer leaders and the use of familiar models in media presentations were investigated. The results suggest that social-influences resistance training was efficacious in reducing transitions to higher use by those who had previously experimented with cigarettes. Health education was most effective in preventing initial experimentation among those who had not smoked prior to the beginning of the study. Neither program was effective in limiting transitions among those who had gone beyond the experimental stage of smoking, and neither had any effect on encouraging cessation. There were no differences which could be attributed to peer leaders or to familiar media models. During later adolescence, a combined health education and social skills training approach is advocated. It is suggested that while there are some gains by implementing programs during late adolescence, prevention programs targeted at younger students may be more effective generally.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

The influence of newspaper reports on outbreaks of mass hysteria.

A previous study suggested that newspaper reports contributed to the generation and propagation of a recent epidemic of "mysterious gas poisoning" among Arab schoolgirls. To further explore the role of the press in mass hysteria, the authors reviewed newspaper reports related to two separate outbreaks of hysteria among schoolchildren. Despite extensive coverage of both epidemics, only one questionably related new outbreak and no relapses of illness in the original settings occurred following these reports. The variable influence the media may have on mass hysteria and the multitude of other factors that can affect such outbreaks are discussed.

Child↗
PubMed1976

Psychological consultation to a police training academy: problems and opportunities.

Police departments are systems of social regulation affecting the lives of many citizens. Psychological instruction to trainees can increase the armamentarium of police techniques in dealing with civil disturbances. Such instruction must be cognizant of attitudinal resistances toward new police instructors, particularly those with an intellectual or university orientation. Crisis situations that are handled by a proper balancing of coercive and negotiation types of techniques generate the most effective solution to disturbance situations. An approach is offered for effective teaching of a balanced-coercive alliance model.

Attitude↗
PubMed1994

A commentary on adolescent group violence.

In an effort to understand some of the group dynamic factors inherent in today's unprecedented increase in youth gang violence, the larger, well organized gangs of the 1960's, were compared with the contemporary crowd-like, small packs of street youths. A hypothesis is advanced that the combined processes of de-individuation and of group contagion underlie many of the violent acts, so rampant in inner-city areas.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Understanding genital-shrinking epidemics in West Africa: koro, juju, or mass psychogenic illness?

A small-scale epidemic of genital shrinking occurred in six West African nations between January 1997 and October 2003. This article presents a summary and analysis of 56 media reports of these cases. A clinical formulation of these cases considers a variety of explanations from theory and research in social and cultural psychology, psychopathology, and anthropology. Of particular interest is a comparison of genital-shrinking distress in West African settings with koro, a culture-bound syndrome involving fears of genital retraction that is prominent in Southeast Asian settings. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the role of culture in both the experience of genital-shrinking distress and conceptions of psychopathology.

Africa, Western↗
PubMed2002

[The Werther effect. Significance, mechanisms, consequences].

The Werther effect is a highly regarded phenomenon in media effect research. Since the trail-blazing studies conducted by the American sociologist Phillips, there have been a great many attempts to quantify and evaluate imitative deeds that follow genuine suicides and apparent attempts at suicide. This paper starts by tracing the milestones along the way of research into the Werther effect. The concrete imitation patterns following suicides are then discussed, and the implications for responsible journalistic reporting that arise out of them are presented. This seems to be necessary, since despite many-sided and detailed findings on the Werther effect in Germany, there have so far been no experiments devoted to ways of exploiting these research results practically in a suicide prevention programme. Whilst in other countries preliminary guidelines for journalistic reporting have already been elaborated and in some countries even implemented, such efforts are still only in the very early stages in Germany.

Germany↗
PubMed1982

The binding of [3H]nitrendipine to receptors for calcium channel antagonists in the heart, cerebral cortex, and ileum of rats.

The binding properties of the calcium channel antagonist, [3H]nitrendipine, were investigated in homogenates of the rat cerebral cortex, heart and ileum. The specific component of [3H]nitrendipine binding was consistent with mass-action behavior and was characterized by a high affinity dissociation constant in the range of 0.1-0.3 nM. A variety of other calcium channel antagonists inhibited the binding of [3H]nitrendipine with Ki's that agree generally with the ability of these drugs to block contractions of cardiac and smooth muscle. The inhibition of [3H]nitrendipine binding by other dihydropyridines was consistent with competitive antagonism whereas the inhibition caused by verapamil and D600 resembled negative heterotropic cooperativity. Consistent with this latter postulate was the observation that the kinetics of [3H]nitrendipine binding are altered by verapamil, with both the association rate and the dissociation rate being increased. La+3 and several divalent cations caused an inhibition of [3H]nitrendipine with the rank order of potency being Cd+2 greater than La+3 greater than Ni+2 greater than Co+2 = Mn+2 greater than Mg+2 = Ba+2 greater than Ca+2.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Patterns of protein synthesis in E. coli: a catalog of the amount of 140 individual proteins at different growth rates.

The amount of 140 individual proteins of E. coli B/r was measured during balanced growth in five different media. The abundance of each protein was determined from its absolute amount in 14C-glucose-minimal medium and a measurement of its relative amount at each growth rate using a double labeling technique. Separation of the proteins was carried out by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. This catalog of proteins, combined with 50 additional ribosomal proteins already studied, comprises about 5% of the coding capacity of the genome, but accounts for two thirds of the cell's protein mass. The behavior of most of these proteins could be described by a relatively small number of patterns. 102 of the 140 proteins exhibited nearly linear variations with growth rate. The remaining 38 proteins exhibited levels which seemed to depend more on the chemical nature of the medium than on growth rate. Proteins, including the ribosomal proteins, that increase in amount with increasing growth rate account for 20% of total cell protein by weight during growth on acetate, 32% on glucose-minimal medium and 55% on glucose-rich medium. Proteins with invariant levels in the various media comprise about 4% of the cell's total protein.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1996

Selenoprotein W of rat muscle binds glutathione and an unknown small molecular weight moiety.

When purified from rat muscle, selenoprotein W is fractionated into four forms distinguished by slightly different chromatographic behavior. Precise masses of the four forms were determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The mass distribution of the forms (9549, 9592, 9853, and 9898 d) suggests that they occur through derivatization of the lowest mass form with two moieties of approximate masses 44 and 305 d. The apparent 305 d moiety was demonstrated to be glutathione (307 d) by reductive release from the 9853 d protein form with 1000-fold excess of dithiothreitol at 50 degrees C. Milder conditions failed to remove the glutathione. The reduction produced nearly stoichiometric amounts of free glutathione as determined by HPLC of a fluorometric derivative. HPLC retention of the protein changed to match that of the 9549 d form, and a change of mass to 9550 d was observed by MALDI mass spectrometry. The identity of the 44 d moiety is unknown. The presence of glutathione in isolated selenoprotein W may suggest its involvement in the metabolism of this tripeptide.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Entrapment of viable microorganisms by SiO2 sol-gel layers on glass surfaces: trapping, catalytic performance and immobilization durability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Yeast cells are immobilized into SiO2-sol layers coating glass sheets, starting from a SiO2-sol dispersion of viable cells and using the dip-coating method for deposition on the glass surface. The trapped biocatalyst survives experimental working-up and displays kinetic behavior excluding mass transport interference during sucrose degradation. The morphological and other physical features of SiO2-sol layers do not exclude viability and cell reproduction: prolonged contacts between immobilized system and substrate favour discharge of bud cells in solution. The phenomenon is suppressed by coating the SiO2-sol layer with a film composed of triethoxysilane and diethoxymethylsilane. This fact is attributed to the mechanical features of this film, which displays a tensile strength sufficient to contrast the tensile stress exerted by cell reproduction.

Catalysis↗