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Biomedical subjects

J Förster

Publications and source records attributed to J Förster.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Development of PCR-based markers linked to dominant genes for male-fertility restoration in Pampa CMS of rye (Secale cereale L.).

Cytoplasmatic male sterility (CMS) is the basis for commercial hybrid seed production of rye. Nuclear restorer genes are indispensable for a complete restoration of fertility of the CMS lines. The drawbacks of current European restorer lines require the utilisation of new genetic resources that have been recently detected in an Iranian primitive rye population (IRAN IX) and an Argentinean landrace (Pico Gentario). The introgression of these effective restorer genes (Rfp1 and Rfp2, respectively) into breeding material can be facilitated by marker-assisted selection. Using two F(2) populations based on crosses between the non-restorer inbred line Lo6 and the restorer IRAN IX, as well as Pico Gentario, RAPDs and AFLPs were screened and led to a closely linked marker set for each of these genes. The conversion of the closest markers into fragment-specific sequence-characterised amplified region (SCAR) markers resulted in flanking ranges of 2.9 cM (Rfp1) and 5.2 cM (Rfp2). The application of these markers in backcross programmes is discussed.

Genes, Dominant↗
PubMed2001

The role of attribution of motivation in producing postsuppressional rebound.

Three studies demonstrated that postsuppressional rebound (PSR) may be both reduced and enhanced by manipulating people's attributions about why they experience difficulty during suppression. Telling participants that suppression failures indicate a high motivation to use the suppressed construct produced more PSR than telling them that suppression failures indicate a low motivation to use the construct (Study 1). Telling participants that an external stimulus would make suppression easy produced more PSR than telling them that it would make suppression difficult (Study 2). Telling participants that suppressing a stereotype is difficult and unindicative of prejudice eliminated PSR (Study 3). These results support the notion that PSR occurs because people infer from the difficulty experienced during suppression and from suppression failures that they are motivated to use the suppressed construct.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Eosinophil-derived proteins in nasal lavage fluid of neonates of allergic parents and the development of respiratory symptoms during the first 6 months of life. Collaborative SPACE team. Study on the Prevention of Allergy in Children in Europe.

BACKGROUND: Eosinophilic airways inflammation forms the pathophysiologic basis for a proportion of children at risk of developing recurrent wheezing. Early preventive measures and/or anti-inflammatory treatment may be guided by the identification of such children. METHODS: We studied upper-airways inflammation by nasal lavage in a cohort of 397 infants within the first 4 weeks of life. They participated in an international multicenter study on the prevention of allergy in Europe (SPACE-Biomed II Program). A volume of 2 ml of prewarmed 0.9% saline was instilled into each nasal cavity and immediately re-collected by a suction device. The average recovery was 502 microl (SD: 311 microl). The concentrations of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and eosinophil protein X (EPX) were determined by RIA analysis. RESULTS: ECP was detectable (>2 microg/l) in 47% of samples (173/365) and EPX (>3 microg/l) in 54.7% (197/360). Children with a doctor's diagnosis of a wheezy bronchitis within the first 6 months of life (n = 40) had significantly higher ECP and EPX concentrations in the nasal lavage at 4 weeks of age (median ECP: 14 microg/l; 5-95th percentile: 0-122.4 microg/l) than children without such diagnosis (median ECP: 0 microg/l; 5-95th percentile: 0-86.6 microg/l; P<0.05). Corresponding figures for EPX were 12.14 microg/l (0-148.98 microg/l) vs 7.5 microg/l (0-81.46 microg/l; P<0.05). No associations between nasal ECP/EPX and the development of food allergy or eczema were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Increased nasal ECP and EPX in the first 4 weeks of life are associated with wheezing in 6-month-old infants at increased risk of atopic disease. We suggest that this might be related to a general tendency for a Th2 cytokine pattern in these young infants and subsequent trafficking of eosinophils into the nasal mucosa, or it might be a consequence of intrauterine allergen exposure.

Blood Proteins↗
PubMed2000

Expression after suppression: a motivational explanation of postsuppressional rebound.

Five studies examined the effect of expressing a construct after suppressing it on subsequent accessibility. Suppression of color terms (Studies 1, 2, and 5) and of stereotypes (Studies 3 and 4) were examined. Both expression alone and suppression alone enhanced the construct's accessibility relative to the no-suppression/no-expression condition, demonstrating activation by recent construct use and postsuppressional rebound, respectively. However, introducing expression after suppression reduced accessibility relative to both the suppression alone and the expression alone conditions. These results are explained within a motivational theory of rebound, according to which suppressing a construct induces a need to use it, and subsequent expression satisfies this need, thereby instigating an inhibition of the accessibility of need-related constructs.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

The effects of approach and avoidance motor actions on the elements of creative insight.

The authors propose that the nonaffective bodily feedback produced by arm flexion and extension informs individuals about the processing requirements of the situation, leading to the adoption of differential processing styles and thereby influencing creativity. Specifically, the authors predicted that arm flexion would elicit a heuristic processing strategy and bolster insight processes, whereas arm extension would elicit a systematic processing strategy and impair insight processes. To test these predictions, the authors assessed the effects of these motor actions on 3 central elements of creative insight: contextual set-breaking, restructuring, and mental search. As predicted, in 6 experiments, arm flexion, relative to arm extension, facilitated insight-related processes. In a 7th experiment, arm extension, relative to arm flexion, facilitated analytical reasoning, supporting a cognitive tuning interpretation of the findings.

Affect↗
PubMed2000

The sex-->aggression link: a perception-behavior dissociation.

Four studies suggest that priming may yield directionally different effects on social perception and behavior if perceptual and behavioral experiences with the stimulus diverge. This seems true for sex and aggression: Men are more likely to behave aggressively than women, whereas women are more likely to perceive aggressive behavior than men. Using a sequential priming paradigm, Study 1 demonstrates that a basic semantic link between sex and aggression exists for both genders. This link, however, has opposing behavioral and perceptual consequences for men and women. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrate that sex priming facilitates aggressive behavior only for men. Study 4 shows that only women perceive the ambiguously aggressive behavior of a male target person as more aggressive after sex priming. Thus, the perceptual and behavioral responses to sex priming are consistent with the experiences men and women typically have with sex and aggression.

Aggression↗
PubMed1998

Approach and avoidance strength during goal attainment: regulatory focus and the "goal looms larger" effect.

Three studies tested the hypothesis that regulatory focus, both as a chronic person variable and as a manipulated situational variable, differentially affects the strength of participants' approach and avoidance strategic motivations as they get closer to the goal. In 2 studies, flexion and extension arm pressure were used as on-line measures of approach and avoidance intensity, respectively. As predicted, the approach gradient was steeper for participants with a promotion focus on aspirations and gains than for participants with a prevention focus on responsibilities and nonlosses, whereas the reverse was true for the avoidance gradient. In a third study, the same pattern of results was found on a persistence measure of motivational strength. Participants with a promotion focus worked longer on anagrams closer to the goal when they were approach means for goal attainment than when they were avoidance means, whereas the reverse was true for participants with a prevention focus.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Self-reflection and recognition: the role of metacognitive knowledge in the attribution of recollective experience.

We argue that to understand how a recognition task is solved, it is helpful to study the inferences that are drawn on the basis of psychological self-knowledge. This claim is supported by findings from 3 experiments in which participants' metacognitive knowledge was either measured or manipulated. Specifically, it was found that when the quality of a recollective experience was not associated with one particular cause, knowledge about whether one would have noted or remembered a stimulus is used. In conclusion, we argue that a perspective that is derived from attribution theory in social psychology may be fruitfully applied to phenomena of recognition.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1998

Motor actions in retrieval of valenced information: II. Boundary conditions for motor congruence effects.

We report an experiment on the influence of arm positions on the generation of valenced information. Participants were induced to perform either approach (arm flexion) or avoidance (arm extension) behavior while generating names of persons. One half of the participants had to indicate whether they had positive, negative or neutral attitudes towards these persons during retrieval (evaluation group), the other half had to indicate their attitudes after retrieval (nonevaluation group). Participants retrieved significantly more negative than positive names under arm extension but more positive than negative names under arm flexion. This motor congruence effect, however, was only obtained for the evaluation group. The data show that an evaluative context is necessary to produce the effect in retrieval.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

[Effect of motor perceptions on affective judgment of attractive and unattractive portraits].

Two experiments are reported that investigate the influence of motor components of approach versus avoidance behavior on the evaluation of attractive versus unattractive photographs of persons. On the basis of prior body feedback research (Cacioppo, Priester & Berntson, 1993) it could be shown that approach behavior (arm flexion) leads to more positive evaluations than avoidance behavior (arm extension). This effect was obtained for online judgments as well as memory based judgments. Additionally, in Experiment 1, the influence of arm position was more pronounced, when arm position and photograph shared the same valence (arm flexion and attractive photos and arm extension and unattractive photos), whereas no influence on evaluation was observed when the valence of arm position and photograph was unshared (arm flexion and unattractive photos and arm extension and attractive photos). However, in Experiment 2, these results could only be replicated for attractive portraits, whereas for unattractive portraits both arm flexion and arm extension led to lower ratings compared to a control group. The results are discussed within the framework of a proposed contingency model that in general predicts body feedback effects only in the case of compatibility between the valence of expression and information. Furthermore, in Experiment 2 some evidence was obtained that qualifies that effect as automatic, inasmuch as increased distraction from evaluating the photographs bolstered the effect.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Motor actions in retrieval of valenced information: a motor congruence effect.

To study the influence of overt behavior on the generation of valenced information participants were induced to perform either approach (arm flexion) or avoidance (arm extension) behaviors while generating the names of celebrities towards whom they had positive, negative, or neutral attitudes. Participants performing arm flexion generated more names of positively evaluated persons while participants performing arm extension tended to generate more names of negatively evaluated persons. Both self-perception and mood are discussed as potential bases for the obtained effect. In the light of our previous results, we suggest an alternative mechanism of compatibility between motor actions and information which implies that fewer cognitive resources are needed for "compatibility" than for "incompatibility."

Adult↗
PubMed1997

[Surgical oncology: possible methods for financing complex oncological therapy procedures].

The AOK Schleswig-Holstein actually finances the evaluation of treatment costs for the project "Operative Oncology". After the primary conceptual phase, the project will be financed for several years and will be accompanied by quality-control studies. In addition to the procedure of the BMG, the costs of psychological support/therapy as well as for new molecular biological tests for the detection of micrometastases are calculated. The reason for this calculation is that these additional costs might be included into a specific, oncological resource-based value system of payment.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1996

Influence of overt head movements on memory for valenced words: a case of conceptual-motor compatibility.

The present article reports 3 studies that demonstrate the influence of overt behavior on recognition and elucidates the theoretical basis for such an influence. In 2 experiments it was found that participants who were induced to nod while incidentally encoding positive and negative adjectives were more likely to recognize positive adjectives, whereas participants who were induced to shake their heads were more likely to recognize negative words. In a third experiment, with a double-task procedure, it was shown that when encoding was accompanied by head movements that were compatible with words, participants were better at performing the secondary task than when words and head movements were incompatible. These findings suggest that performing incompatible motoric and conceptual tasks concurrently requires more cognitive capacity. Where this capacity is allocated and when it is withdrawn depends on the characteristics of the task. Implications of this mechanism for different phenomena in social psychology (e.g., facial feedback and masking of emotional displays) are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Measurements of plasma colloid osmotic pressure, total protein and sodium concentration during haemodialysis: can single-pool sodium modelling explain the results?

Considering the plasma colloid osmotic pressure (COP) as a possible parameter for the monitoring of dialysis treatment compatibility, a characteristic time course was found. The COP and the total protein concentration very often do not increase significantly during the first treatment hour in spite of ultrafiltration. An increase in the plasma sodium concentration, which was higher than expected, was found to be the reason for a plasma dilution effect. This can be explained by a transcapillary sodium transfer coefficient which is not infinitely high as assumed in single-pool sodium modelling. From a 2-pool model considering the plasma volume as a separate pool and including capillary filtration time courses for plasma sodium, total protein concentration and COP could be calculated, which was very similar to the measured curves.

Blood Proteins↗
PubMed1989

Low CO(2) Prevents Nitrate Reduction in Leaves.

The correlation between CO(2) assimilation and nitrate reduction in detached spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) leaves was examined by measuring light-dependent changes in leaf nitrate levels in response to mild water stress and to artificially imposed CO(2) deficiency. The level of extractable nitrate reductase (NR) activity was also measured. The results are: (a) In the light, detached turgid spinach leaves reduced nitrate stored in the vacuoles of mesophyll cells at rates between 3 and 10 micromoles per milligram of chlorophyll per hour. Nitrate fed through the petiole was reduced at similar rates as storage nitrate. Nitrate reduction was accompanied by malate accumulation. (b) Under mild water stress which caused stomatal closure, nitrate reduction was prevented. The inhibition of nitrate reduction observed in water stressed leaves was reversed by external CO(2) concentrations (10-15%) high enough to overcome stomatal resistance. (c) Nitrate reduction was also inhibited when turgid leaves were kept in CO(2)-free air or at the CO(2)-compensation point or in nitrogen. (d) When leaves were illuminated in CO(2)-free air, activity of NR decreased rapidly. It increased again, when CO(2) was added back to the system. The half-time for a 50% change in activity was about 30 min. It thus appears that there is a rapid inactivation/activation mechanism of NR in leaves which couples nitrate reductase to net photosynthesis.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1989

[Hemostasis monitoring in intensive therapy--studies using resonance thrombography].

The resonance-thrombogram (RTG) is the result of a new investigation method verifying the clotting process as a whole. It provides a far reaching breakdown of the main factors of coagulation and thus a means for diagnosing and treating coagulation disorders. A special field of application is indication and control of therapy in cases of disseminated intravascular clotting and hyperfibrinolysis in intensive care. Simple operation, relatively quick results and the possibility of rapid diagnosis using the RTG curve appear to make it suitable as a bed-side method of investigating blood coagulation.

Blood Coagulation Tests↗
PubMed1982

[Experiences with the Rostock artificial heart].

A totally artificial heart--the Rostock totally artificial heart (Rostock TAH) was implanted in calves. We can give the following deductions after 27 examinations: -- The Rostock TAH was tested successfully in endurance test about 7 months; it show no sign of wear. -- The surgical technique of the implantation was standardised and a successful experimentation is possible. -- The longest survival time was 15 days. The hemodynamic early results were very good in 3 other animals. -- Modifications of the Rostock TAH were taken up relating to the dimensions of the artificial ventriculi and by mounting a screw cap for avoiding an air embolism. -- Adaption tests in the corpse show that the present form of the artificial heart is not ideal for a possible application in man. -- The problem is still existing in developing a suitable drive system locates intrathoracically. The present drive and control system on a pneumatic base is qualified only for the animal experiment but not for a possible application in man.

Anesthesia, General↗