[Affective disturbances in patients with breast cancer]

40 cases of breast tumor (cancer group 20 cases, benign tumor group 20 cases) hospitalized from October, 1986 to April, 1987 were investigated by interview, HAMD, SCL-90 and so on. Results showed that 10 cases met diagnostic criteria of organic affective syndrome defined by DSM-III. The morbidity of depression among all cases was 25 per cent, but the morbidity of depression in breast cancer group was higher than in benign tumor group. Causes of depression in breast cancer were analysed. Authors consider that causes of depression are not relating to operation on breast, but probably relating to biological and psychosocial factors.

[Changes of glomerular fixed anionic charge sites in adriamycin nephrosis in rats]

A single intravenous injection of adriamycin (5mg per kg.) into rats induced nephrosis. In the various periods of the model, alterations of glomerular anionic sites stained with colloidal iron were analyzed quantitatively by image analyzer for the first time at home and abroad. The results showed that there was a significant decrease in glomerular anionic charge sites at 3 hours after administration of adriamycin as compared with that of the control animals (P less than 0.01). Marked loss of the anionic charge sites preceded the onset of proteinuria and was steadily increasing along with progress of the disease. The results suggest that loss of glomerular anionic charge sites may play an important role in the development of proteinuria in nephrotic syndrome.

Environmental factors and Parkinson's disease: a case-control study in China

We studied the role of environment in the development of Parkinson's disease (PD) in China, where industrialization is relatively recent and the population geographically stable. Using a case-control method, we investigated the relationship between PD and exposure to the following factors before disease onset: place of residence, source of drinking water, environmental and occupational exposure to various agricultural and industrial processes. Occupational or residential exposure to industrial chemicals, printing plants, or quarries was associated with an increased risk of developing PD. In contrast, living in villages and exposure to the common accompaniments of village life, wheat growing and pig raising, were associated with a decreased risk for PD. PD cases and controls did not differ with respect to other factors investigated. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that environmental exposure to certain industrial chemicals may be related to the development of PD.

Computer simulations of figure-ground discrimination in the visual system of the fly

Figure-ground discrimination and pattern discrimination represent one of the most important problems in computer vision. Based on computational neuronal network model proposed by Reichardt et al. for figure-ground discrimination in the visual system of the fly, entire systematic computer simulations were carried out under nonstationary conditions. Results show that the model network and simulations have predictive power for behavioural experimental results. This paper proposes that motion perception and elementary pattern discrimination in human visual system may be mediated by some kind of figure-ground system with movement detectors as input layer.

Urban-rural and educational differentials in marital status in China

Since 1950, laws aimed at delaying marriage have been 1 of the major means of slowing population growth in China, where marriage is nearly universal. Age at marriage has risen in recent decades, but not to the same extent in all localities. This article uses cross-tabulated data from China's 1982 census to assess the effects of urban-rural residence and educational level on the ages at which men and women have been marrying. The data also reveal the effects of residence and education on widowhood, divorce, and current marital status. As expected, exposure to development, indicated by urban residence and higher education, is associated with later marriage, but it also increases the likelihood of ever marrying, especially for men. Women's tendency to seek social mobility by marrying men from economically more developed areas results in bachelorhood for a substantial percentage of rural men, especially those who are illiterate.

Pontentiometric cyanine dyes are sensitive probes for mitochondria in intact plant cells : kinetin enhances mitochondrial fluorescence

Selected fluorescent dyes were tested for uptake by mitochrondria in intact cells of barley, maize, and onion. The cationic cyanine dye 3,3'-diheptyloxacarbocyanine iodide [DiOC(7)(3)] accumulated in mitochondria within 15 to 30 minutes without appreciable staining of other protoplasmic constituents. The number, shape, and movement of the fluorescent mitochondria could be seen readily, and the fluorescence intensity of the mitochondria could be monitored with a microscope photometer. Fluorescence was eliminated in 1 to 5 minutes by the protonophore carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP) indicating that maintenance of dye concentration was dependent on the inside-negative transmembrane potential maintained by functional mitochondria. Fluorescence of prestained mitochondria was enhanced within 5 to 10 minutes after addition of 0.1 millimolar kinetin to cells. The fluorescence in kinetintreated cells was dissipated by CCCP. These results suggest that kinetin interacted with respiratory processes resulting in higher potential across the mitochondrial membrane.

Calcium-41 Concentration in Terrestrial Materials: Prospects for Dating of Pleistocene Samples

Calcium-41 has been suggested as a new tool for radiometric dating in the range of 10(5) to 10(6) years. The concentration of cosmogenic calcium-41 in natural samples of terrestrial origin has now been determined by high-sensitivity accelerator mass spectrometry after pre-enrichment in calcium-41 with an isotope separator. Ratios of calcium-41 to total calcium between 2 x 10(-14) and 3 x 10(-15) were measured for samples of contemporary bovine bone and from limestone deposits. Some prospects for the use of calcium-41 for dating Middle and Late Pleistocene bone and for other geophysical applications are discussed.

The rise of technology in Chinese hospitals

Chinese hospitals in the 1980s are in the midst of a technological revolution. Based upon data from several regions in China, this paper describes the political, organizational, economic, and philosophical changes which have accompanied the shift in focus from primary care medicine to high technology tertiary care. The increased authority of physicians, greater contact with the West, and increased funding for medical equipment are key factors in these changes. Although the Chinese state continues to control the administration and financing of most hospitals, the decentralizing reforms of Deng Xiaoping have undermined its ability to effectively plan for, and assess new technology. At present, limited resources prevent most regions from excessive technology acquisition, but the state must rebuild its planning capacity in order to foster rational allocation of scarce medical resources.

Application of avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex method with a monoclonal antibody to human Ia-like antigen in immunoelectron microscopy

Monoclonal antibody (MAb) to human Ia-like (HLA-DR) antigen was applied with the avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) immunostaining method to localize the Ia-like antigen at the electron microscopic level. Our results indicated that in human tonsils and adenoids fixed with 4-6% phosphate-buffered paraformaldehyde for 4-6 hr, sharply delineated electron-dense products of the antigen and antibody complex were detectable on the outer cell membranes of lymphoblasts, lymphocytes, reticular cells, and macrophages. In our study, the vibratome sections of the paraformaldehyde-fixed, pre-embedding immunostained tissues consistently showed more satisfactory morphology than frozen sections. The combined use of the anti-human Ia monoclonal antibody and the ABC procedure with paraformaldehyde fixation provides a simple and sensitive method to study at the ultrastructural level the Ia-like antigen-bearing cells, which are vital in the immune response.