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Biomedical subjects

E Spitz

Publications and source records attributed to E Spitz.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

Treatment of chronic perennial allergic rhinitis: a double-blind trial of cromolyn sodium.

In a double-blind, crossover study to determine the efficacy of cromolyn sodium in chronic perennial allergic rhinitis five of 12 patients with significant sneezing problems and four of 12 patients with significant rhinorrhea showed major improvement after a four-week course of the drug. Nasal eosinophils disappeared in five of six patients after a course of cromolyn sodium.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Effect of sugars on early biochemical events in development of Dictyostelium discoideum.

Metabolizable sugars blocked development of the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum; the same sugars also inhibited the formation of contact sites "A", of membranal 3':5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-binding sites, and of total cAMP phosphodoesterase (3':5'-cyclic-nucleotide phosphodiesterase; EC 3.1.4.17; 3':5'-cyclic-nucleotide 5'-nucleotidohydrolase). These inhibitory effects of the sugars on the synthesis of cellular components, required for the aggregation of developing amebae, were paralleled by an inhibition of the accumulation of cAMP which normally accompanies development. The inhibition by sugars could be overcome partially by pulsing the amebae with nanomolar concentrations of cAMP only after the amebae had acquired cAMP-binding sites. The findings suggest that metabolizable sugars inhibit development by blocking the formation of cAMP and, conversely, that development in D. discoideum may be related to the energetic state of the cell.

3',5'-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterases↗
PubMed1975

Accumulation of arsenate, phosphate, and aspartate by Sreptococcus faecalis.

Uptake of arsenate and phosphate by Streptococcus faecalis 9790 is strictly dependent on concurrent energy metabolism and essentially unidirectional. targinine supports uptake only in presence of glycerol or related substances; glycerol is not directly involved in transport but depletes the cellular orthophosphate pool and thus relieves feedback inhibition of transport. Uptake of phosphate and arsenate is stimulated by K+ and by other permeant cations. The results suggest that electroneutrality is preserved by compensatory movement of either H+ or OH minus. Ionophores and N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, which prevent establishment of a proton motive force, block the accumulation of thiomethylgalactoside and of threonine but not that of arsenate or phosphate. We conclude that arsenate accumulation requires adenosine 5'-triphosphate but is not driven by the proton-motive force. However, conditions and reagents that lower the cytoplasmic pH do inhibit accumulation of arsenate and phosphate, suggesting that uptake depends on the capacity of the cells to maintain a neutral or alkaline cytoplasm. We therefore propose that phosphate accumulation is an electroneutral exchange for OH driven by adenosine 5'-triphosphate or by a metabolite thereof. Accumulation of aspartate and glutamate also requires adenosine 5'-triphosphate but not the proton-motive force and may involve a similar mechanism.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1973

Cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate in Escherichia coli.

The concentration of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (c-AMP) in Escherichia coli growing on different sources of carbon was studied. Cultures utilizing a source of carbon that supported growth relatively poorly had consistently higher concentrations of c-AMP than did cultures utilizing sugars that supported rapid growth. This relationship was also observed in strains defective in c-AMP phosphodiesterase and simultaneously resistant to catabolite repression; in such strains the c-AMP concentration was slightly higher for several sources of carbon tested. Cultures continued to synthesize c-AMP and secreted it into the medium, under conditions that brought about an inhibition of the intracellular accumulation of the cyclic nucleotide. Transient repression of the synthesis of beta-galactosidase was not associated with an abrupt decrease in the cellular concentration of c-AMP.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Multidimensional assessment of coping: validation of the Brief COPE among French population].

This Article aims to introduce the translation and the validation of a multidimensional measure of coping strategies: the Brief COPE, in a French population. The coping concept comes from psychological studies that were conducted on stress. In the conceptual analysis of stress by Lazarus and Folkman, coping works with two cognitive appraisals performed by the person concerning the perception of a threatening situation and his or her available resources to deal with it. Coping is defined as "cognitive and behavioural efforts to master, reduce, or tolerate the internal and/or external demands that are created by the stressful transaction". The Brief COPE is the abridged version of the COPE inventory and presents fourteen scales all assessing different coping dimensions: 1) active coping, 2) planning, 3) using instrumental support, 4) using emotional support, 5) venting, 6) behavioural disengagement, 7) self-distraction, 8) self-blame, 9) positive reframing, 10) humor, 11) denial, 12) acceptance, 13) religion, and 14) substance use. Each scale contains two items (28 altogether). This inventory has the advantage of being built from acknowledged theoretical models (Lazarus' transactional model of stress, 1984; behavioral self-regulation model, Carver and Scheier, 1981, 1998). It can be used to assess trait coping (the usual way people cope with stress in everyday life) and state coping (the particular way people cope with a specific stressful situation). As is the COPE inventory, the Brief COPE is a measure used for many health-relevant studies: drugs addiction, ageing, breast cancer, depression, AIDS. Both measures are widely used in Anglophone countries and translated in many Languages. Today, the COPE inventory has been validated among Estonian, Croatian, Chinese, and Italian populations and the Brief COPE is also validated among Spanish people. Thus, the worldwide use of this coping inventory should allow a broad comparison of medical and psychological research for coping strategies regarding every kind of pathologies. Thus, we were led to present the translation and the validation of this measure in a French population. Two studies are presented in this Article: the first one describes the validation of the inventory in a dispositional format (trait coping) and the second one the validation of the inventory in a situational format (state coping). The French version of Brief COPE, which was used for both studies, was back-translated and analysed by the Brief COPE Author: Charles S. Carver. For study 1, 834 first Year university students answered the Brief COPE in its dispositional format. To study the factor structure of the Brief COPE, we used structural equation modeling and the LISREL software. Results show that the expected theoretical structure and the observed one fit adequately (c2=606, p<0,05, RMSEA=0,04, GFI>0,95, AGFI>0,92, RMR<0,03). In order to study convergent and discriminant validity of Brief COPE, self-esteem (SEI, Rosenberg, 1979), perceived stress (PSS, Cohen et al., 1983), and psychological distress (GHQ-12, Goldberg, 1972) measures were used. Results show that functional coping strategies (eg, active coping) are linked to good self-esteem, to lower perceived stress, and to lower psychological distress, whereas less functional strategies (eg, denial or self-blame) are widely linked to poor self-esteem, to a high perceived stress, and to psychological distress. Study 1 shows also several significant gender differences. Study 2 describes the Brief COPE validation in its situational format. 178 additional students answered this version. The method that was used is the same the one developed by Lazarus and his colleagues for the WCC validation. Participants were asked to recall and think about the most stressful event they had experienced during the past two Months. They were also to give an account of how much that situation mattered to them. They had to evaluate their capacity to control the situation and indicated whether they felt the situation was amenable to change. The study includes only peoples only people who labeled an event as "important" or "very important". Here again LISREL was used to study the factor structure of the Brief COPE. The results emphasise - as in study 1 - that the expected theoretical structure and the observed one fit adequately (c2=391, p<0,05, RMSEA<0,05, GFI=0,87, AGFI=0,80, RMR<0,06). Differences among means showed how the perceived control of the situation and how the perception of its favourable evolution influenced the coping strategies used (eg, humour or denial). Results in both studies indicate good psychometric properties for the Brief COPE in its French version, whatever the format (ie, dispositional or situational). Thus French searchers have a relevant tool on hand to measure as accurately as possible the coping strategies someone used in everyday life (strategies interfering on health, on a long scale), or in distressful situations (eg, serious illness, traumas). The fact that this easy-to-use coping measure is worldwide spread among medical and psychological studies allows a better broadcast and comparison of results whatever the pathology.

Adaptation, Psychological↗