Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to D G Barstow.
1. Clients feel relieved when they have a label for what "ails" them. 2. Following vicitimization of one's self, exposure to a second traumatic event can trigger a reexperiencing of the original trauma. 3. Resolution of the trauma requires that the victim be able to formulate an explanation (supply meaning) as to why it occurred.
OBJECTIVE: The five goals established for the development of this article were to: (1) provide an historical overview of the practice, (2) describe the procedure and its sequelae in realistic terms, (3) explore cultural justifications for the continuation of this action, (4) evaluate inherent moral/ethical/legal issues and, (5) focus worldwide professional attention on a gender-specific child atrocity. METHOD: A review of the past and current historical, popular and professional literature was undertaken to determine the precursors, magnitude, settings, rationale, and moral-ethical-legal-treatment issues associated with this mutilating procedure. RESULTS: Four forms of female genital mutilation were identified. These are: (1) sunna (removal of the prepuce of the clitoris); (2) clitoridectomy (removal of the prepuce and the clitoris); (3) excision (removal of the prepuce, clitoris, upper labia minora and perhaps the labia majora); and, (4) infibulation (removal of the prepuce, clitoris, labia minora, and labia majora). The "surgery" is performed most frequently by untrained midwives who use sharp rocks, razor blades, kitchen knives, broken glass, or even their teeth. As a rule, no anesthetics, antiseptics, analgesics or antibiotics are available to victims. Consequently, these females typically suffer from massive short-term and long-term physical, emotional, sexual and obstetrical sequelae. CONCLUSIONS: The justifications tendered by proponents do not withstand moral-legal-ethical scrutiny. Female genital mutilation is a violation of human rights and an atrocity perpetrated against helpless individuals who are unable to provide informed consent and who must therefore be protected through education and legislation.
Four experiments are reported that explore whether spinal neurons can support instrumental learning. During training, one group of spinal rats (master) received legshock whenever one hindlimb was extended. Another group (yoked) received legshock independent of leg position. Master, but not yoked, rats learned to maintain their leg in a flexed position, exhibiting progressively longer flexions as a function of training (Experiment 1). All subjects were then tested by applying controllable shock to the same leg (Experiment 2). Master rats reacquired the instrumental response more rapidly (positive transfer), whereas yoked rats failed to learn (a learned helplessness-like effect). Disrupting response-outcome contiguity by delaying the onset and offset of shock by 100 ms eliminated learning (Experiment 3). Experiment 4 showed that shock onset contributes more to learning than does shock offset.
This study was designed to determine whether pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P-5-C) synthase is deficient in chick enterocytes therefore resulting in the lack of synthesis of ornithine and citrulline from glutamine. Post-weaning pig enterocytes, which are known to contain P-5-C synthase and to synthesize both ornithine and citrulline from glutamine, were used as positive controls. Enterocytes were incubated at 37 degrees C for 0-30 min in the presence of 2 mM [U-14C]glutamine or 2 mM ornithine plus 2 mM NH4Cl. In chick enterocytes, glutamine was metabolized to NH3, CO2, glutamate, alanine and aspartate, but not to ornithine, citrulline, arginine or proline. Likewise, there was no formation of citrulline, arginine, alanine or aspartate from ornithine in chick enterocytes. Furthermore, the rate of conversion of ornithine into proline in chick enterocytes was only about 4% of that in cells from pigs. To elucidate the reason for the inability of chick enterocytes to synthesize ornithine and citrulline from glutamine, the activities of the enzymes involved were measured. No activity of P-5-C synthase or ornithine carbamoyltransferase was found in chick enterocytes, in contrast with cells from post-weaning pigs. It was also demonstrated that the activity of ornithine aminotransferase in chick enterocytes was only 3% of that in cells from pigs. Thus the present findings elucidate the biochemical reason for the lack of endogenous synthesis of ornithine and citrulline in chicks. Our results also explain previous observations that ornithine cannot replace arginine or proline in the diet of chicks. We suggest that the absence of P-5-C synthase and ornithine carbamoyltransferase in enterocytes is the metabolic basis for the nutritional requirement of arginine in the chick.
Self-injury/self-mutilation behaviors often are associated with organic conditions, such as mental retardation, encephalitis, Lesch-Nyhan disease, de Lange syndrome, Tourette's syndrome, acute intoxication, Addison's disease, and various behavioral and personality disorders. Among the many reasons why individuals resort to self-injury/self-mutilation are to reduce tension, the communication of intense or depressive emotions, dissociative experiences, or to gain control of earlier traumatic experiences through reenactment. The treatment of clients who engage in self-injury/self-mutilation must focus on improving communication skills, raising self-esteem, identifying support persons and groups, and eliminating positive and negative reinforcement.
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