Development and factor analytic validation of the SPANAS among women in Spain: (more) cross-cultural convergence in the structure of mood

We reported our findings on the development and preliminary validation of a Spanish-language measure of positive and negative affect. Using confirmatory factor analytic techniques on data generated by 708 women in northern Spain, we obtained reasonable construct validity and reliability data for the measure. Consistent with past cross-cultural studies, a two-factor Positive Affect-Negative Affect (PA-NA)structure emerged, with PA and NA as relatively independent entities. The structure in this sample converged with that reported for a culturally separate group of participants. This factor structure has therefore revealed invariance across a number of cultural groups in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Gangliosides expressed in human breast cancer

Breast tumors that were histopathologically diagnosed as invasive ductal carcinoma were examined in relation to their abnormal expression of gangliosides. Total ganglioside levels that were expressed as lipid-bound sialic acids were significantly higher in breast tumor tissues than in normal mammary tissues. Two kinds of unusual gangliosides were found to be expressed in many cases of breast tumors. One was a group of O-acetylated gangliosides, such as O-acetyl-GD3 and O-acetyl-GT3. They are known as fetal gangliosides, which appear in fetal brains. The other was an N-glycolylneuraminic acid-containing ganglioside, N-glycolyl-GM3, which had not been previously found in normal human tissues. The finding that unusual gangliosides are expressed in breast tumors may provide the basis for their immunological diagnosis and vaccine therapy.

Glycolipids as the major autoantigens of cytoplasmatic islet cell antibodies

It has been recently suggested that pancreatic glycolipidic extracts and acidic glycolipid fractions are able to block the binding of ICA to frozen sections of human pancreas. We study the prevalence of blocking effect by the upper-phase from human pancreatic glycolipid extracts (PGE) in thirty-eight sera ICA positive from seventeen IDDM patients and twenty-one first relatives of type 1 diabetics. Total inhibition was found in 82% and 76% insulin dependent diabetes mellitus patients and first relatives of type 1 diabetics respectively. Partial and no inhibition of ICA+ sera was seen in 6%, 12% of type 1 diabetics and 19%, 5% of the first degree relatives of type 1 diabetics respectively. Our study suggests that there is heterogeneity of cytoplasmatic islet cell antibodies and that glycolipids are the major autoantigen of ICA.