PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

D Farrell

Publications and source records attributed to D Farrell.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Cytological differences between normal and malignant human cell populations in culture.

Cells from early-passage cultures of normal and malignant human tissues were analyzed for the presence of multiple nucleoli and tri- or multipolar mitoses; these properties are characteristic of malignant cell populations in tissue sections. For the cell types examined the presence of tri- or multipolar mitoses was characteristic of cells of malignant origin. Within epithelial cell populations, cells containing more than 4 nucleoli were found in populations of malignant but not of normal origin; this distinction did not apply to fibroblast populations. Large numbers of cells must be analyzed quantitatively to establish the distinctions described here, since they are properties characteristic of populations, not of individual cells. This approach may facilitate identification of normal and malignant cell populations in primary and early-passage culture.

Cell Nucleus↗
PubMed1983

Freud's 'thought-transference', repression, and the future of psychoanalysis.

Psychoanalysts since Freud have largely neglected his important, paradigmatic ideas on the possibility of 'thought-transference' (telepathy) as an influence in mental life. A chance recording of two dreams which proved to coincide in some detail with distant reality events again suggests evidence in favour of the telepathy hypothesis. On interpretation, one of these dreams reveals even greater correspondence with the reality event and shows the mechanism of transformation of the repressed wish from latent dream content into manifest dream, utilizing a number of elements of the dream instigator, an apparently telepathically received day residue. Working with this material proceeded against very strong resistance, most evident in repeated forgetting of one or another bit of the clinical data. This has been the fate of ideas pertaining to the occult since Freud's first formulations, as is documented here by references to the early history of psychoanalysis. The issue now and for the future is whether psychoanalysis will continue to ignore the crucial question of validity in regard to the telepathy hypothesis. The psychoanalytic method is uniquely qualified to investigate so-called parapsychological phenomena and has the same obligation to do so as with other mental events. We need to examine the evidence in spite of the threat posed to our conventional understanding of the limits of the mind by the very act of acknowledging the question. If we can overcome our resistance to undertaking this task, we may find that, once again, Freud pointed the way towards discovery of a new paradigm in science.

Attitude to Death↗
PubMed1979

DNA polymerases in mouse spermatogenic cells separated by sedimentation velocity.

Activity levels of DNA polymerase alpha and DNA polymerase beta have been measured in mouse spermatogenic cells separated by sedimentation velocity. Testes from prepuberal (17 day old) and sexually mature mice were dissociated and separated by unit gravity sedimentation into 6 populations of cells. Phase contrast microscopy and [3H]thymidine labeling kinetics revealed that at least 85% of the cells in fraction A were pachytene-stage primary spermatocytes, fraction B was enriched for primary spermatocytes and round spermatids, fraction C contained spermatogonia and/or pre-leptotene primary spermatocytes and later stages of spermatids (no spermatids were present in fraction C from the testes of 17 day old mice) and fractions D to F contained mixed populations of cells, many in later stages of spermiogenesis. When expressed as activity in 10(6) cells or as a specific activity, fractions A, B, and C from mature animals population initially loaded onto the gradient while fractions D, E and F had activity levels similar to or below the population of dissociated cells. The ratio of activity between the DNA polymerases was constant in fractions A, B, and C, but in fractions D, E, and F, the ratio decreased due to a more rapid decline of activity of polymerase alpha. A comparison of activity levels in fraction C from prepuberal and sexually mature mice revealed an increase in DNA polymerase alpha activity and a decrease in the activity of DNA polymerase beta in the cells from the 17 day old animals.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

RNA polymerase activity in bovine spermatozoa.

Washed mature spermatozoa from bulls incorporate ribonucleoside triphosphates into RNA using an endogenous template. Maximum incorporation was observed at 31 degrees C in the presence of MgCl2, all four ribonucleoside triphosphates, beta-mercaptoethanol, and glycine sodium hydroxide buffer at pH 9.0. The amount of synthesis was linearly dependent upon the concentration of spermatozoa and continued for at least 4 h. Digestion studies revealed the RNA to be present in a protected (intracellular?) location in the spermatozoa. The RNA synthesis was inhibited by ethidium bromide, rifampicin, acriflavine, actinomycin D, and caffeine, but not by alpha-amanitine or rifamycin SV. Fractionation of the spermatozoa by sonication and separation of the heads and tails by centrifugation through a discontinuous gradient revealed that more than half of the total RNA polymerase activity was associated with the tail fraction.

Acriflavine↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Countertransference difficulties in a time-limited psychotherapy.

A dramatic episode of patient-therapist interaction near the conclusion of a brief, time-limited psychotherapy is described with the help of a verbatim transcript. Our understanding of these events is based primarily on an awareness of the therapist's countertransference. The traumatic nature of the event that brought the patient to therapy, his narcissistic and borderline character structure, the therapist's own personal vulnerabilities to feelings of loss and guilt, and the additional difficulty for both therapist and patient of a brief, time-limited psychotherapy were factors contributing to the development of these countertransference disturbances.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

On speaking of oneself by name.

Speaking of oneself by name is studied. Such behavior occurred with unusual frequency in the case of a patient with predominantly narcissistic character pathology who underwent brief psychotherapy for a stress response syndrome following his wife's suicide. A content and context analysis of this phenomenon showed that the patient would refer to himself by name as a characteristic defense in response to severe threats to his self-esteem. An object-relations perspective proved useful in clarifying dynamic aspects of this defensive maneuver, which depended for its effectiveness on the evocation of self-images negating guilt and shame. In addition to the patient's character style and the nature of the stress event, the framework of the therapy and the therapist's countertransference responses to the patient were other factors influencing the appearance of this behavior. It is concluded that referring to oneself by name reflects at least momentary disturbance in the sense of self and may be unusually prominent and frequent in narcissistic pathology. A study of the phenomenon appears to elucidate an important step in the building of self-representation from the self-object representations of the symbiotic phase: the concept of "I" becomes possible through the reconciling of a sense of physical and psychic separateness with the need for emotional relatedness to others. Where problems of this early developmental phase are reactivated in the treatment situation, the patient's relationship with the therapist is the vital bridge toward a more coherent sense of self.

Adult↗