Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to D Lester.
In a study of 296 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas in 1980, suicide rates were lower in those regions in which church membership was higher, Roman Catholics more common, and religious homogeneity greater.
In a sample of 30 teachers, job satisfaction was predicted by age and the need for achievement.
A study of female inmates in a Russian correctional facility indicated the self-injurers did not differ on aggression and hostility from the average female inmate.
In a sample of 68 undergraduates, approval of abortion was not associated with a general tendency toward irrational thinking.
Indices of democratic rights and local autonomy in the 26 Swiss cantons in 1990 were not associated with the suicide rates of the cantons.
Data from 71 near-death experiences indicated that there were four independent clusters of elements to the experience and that personal and circumstance-related variables were associated with some of these clusters.
A 10-wk. program to increase the self-concept of 8th graders was successful in raising their mean self-rated Self-concept scores as compared to students who did not experience the program.
In a sample of 51 students, worst ever psychache was associated with current depression and a history of suicidal ideation.
In a study of 71 undergraduates, abortion attitudes were not associated with sex and, for the females, only weakly with masculinity scores.
In a sample of 55 undergraduates, religiosity scores were associated with more restrictive attitudes toward abortion.
A pilot study of 82 undergraduates indicated that skills with computers and Internet use predicted purchasing textbooks online.
We attempted to match the appearance and demeanor of 27 serial killers to the postmortem 'signatures' found on their victims' bodies. Our results suggest that a link may exist between postmortem signatures and two complementary appearance-demeanor types.
Growth plate chondrocytes progress through a proliferative phase before acquiring a terminally-differentiated phenotype. In this study we used Percoll density gradients to separate chick growth plate chondrocytes into populations of different maturational phenotype. By applying agarose gel differential display to these populations we cloned a cDNA encoding a novel 268 amino acid protein (3X11A). 3X11A contains two peptide motifs that are conserved in a recently identified superfamily of phosphotransferases. It is likely that 3X11A is a phosphatase, but its substrate specificity remains uncertain. 3X11A expression is upregulated 5-fold during chondrocyte terminal differentiation and its expression is approximately 100-fold higher in hypertrophic chondrocytes than in non-chondrogenic tissues. This suggests that 3X11A participates in a biochemical pathway that is particularly active in differentiating chondrocytes.
Terminal differentiation of growth-plate chondrocytes is accompanied by the acquisition of a spherical morphology and a large increase in cell volume. These changes are likely to be associated with rearrangement of the cytoskeleton, but little information on this aspect of chondrocyte hypertrophy is available. We report a role for microtubules in the control of chondrocyte maturation and hypertrophy. Chick growth-plate chondrocytes were fractionated into five maturationally distinct populations by Percoll density gradient centrifugation, and agarose gel differential display analysis was performed. We identified a 1200 bp cDNA fragment derived from a transcript that was most highly expressed in the hypertrophic chondrocytes. After cloning and sequencing, FASTA and BLAST analysis revealed 100% identity to chick beta7-tubulin. Differential expression was confirmed in a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay using specific primers for a 343 bp fragment from the 3' untranslated region of beta7-tubulin. Beta7-tubulin was upregulated three-fold in fully hypertrophic chondrocytes compared with the other four fractions, which all had similar levels of expression. Immunocytochemical localization of beta-tubulin in chick growth-plate sections demonstrated little staining in the chondrocytes of the proliferating zone, but intense cytoplasmic staining was present in the large hypertrophic chondrocytes. In cell culture studies, the addition of colchicine (10(-6) mol/L) resulted in a higher rate of [3H]-thymidine uptake (36.0%; p < 0.001), but lower amounts of alkaline phosphatase activity (69.1%; p < 0.001), collagen (49.1%; p < 0.01), and glycosaminoglycan (43.3%; p < 0.01) accumulation within the cell-matrix layer. Further evidence for the involvement of microtubules in chondrocyte differentiation and hypertrophy was obtained by morphological assessment of colchicine-treated growth-plate explant cultures. A partial failure of chondrocyte hypertrophy was observed, although collagen type X immunoreactivity was noted within the interstitial matrix. Further studies are required to identify the exact role of microtubules in chondrocyte hypertrophy, but the results presented here suggest that upregulation of beta-tubulin may be required for increased microtubule synthesis during changes in cell size during the hypertrophic process. In addition, as cell-matrix interactions are required for chondrocyte maturation, microtubules may promote the differentiated phenotype as a result of their role in Golgi-mediated secretion of matrix proteins.
Canada's rate of suicide varies from province to province. The classical theory of suicide, which attempts to explain the social suicide rate, stems from Durkheim, who argued that low levels of social integration and regulation are associated with high rates of suicide. The present study explored whether social factors (divorce, marriage, and birth rates) do in fact predict suicide rates over time for each province (period studied: 1950-1990). The results showed a positive association between divorce rates and suicide rates, and a negative association between birth rates and suicide rates. Marriage rates showed no consistent association, an anomaly as compared to research from other nations.
Crisis counseling by means of letters written from the client to the counselor and back is discussed, and an example is presented of counseling a suicidal adolescent using this technique.
The percentage of voters supporting the new constitution for the Russian Federation in 1993 was negatively associated with the death rate in the 55 oblasts and krais (provinces and territories).
In 21 American cities, the pace of life was negatively associated with suicide rates.