ABSTRACT
Soil samples from the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility (FARF) at Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, were analyzed for multiple soil characteristics from cadaver decomposition islands to a depth of 5centimeters (cm) from 63 human decomposition sites, as well as depths up to 15cm in a subset of 11 of the cadaver decomposition islands plus control soils. Postmortem interval (PMI) of the cadaver decomposition islands ranged from 6 to 1752 days. Some soil chemistry, including nitrate-N (NO3-N), ammonium-N (NH4-N), and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), peaked at early PMI values and their concentrations at 0-5cm returned to near control values over time likely due to translocation down the soil profile. Other soil chemistry, including dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), orthophosphate-P (PO4-P), sodium (Na+), and potassium (K+), remained higher than the control soil up to a PMI of 1752days postmortem. The body mass index (BMI) of the cadaver appeared to have some effect on the cadaver decomposition island chemistry. To estimate PMI using soil chemistry, backward, stepwise multiple regression analysis was used with PMI as the dependent variable and soil chemistry, body mass index (BMI) and physical soil characteristics such as saturated hydraulic conductivity as independent variables. Measures of soil parameters derived from predator and microbial mediated decomposition of human remains shows promise in estimating PMI to within 365days for a period up to nearly five years. This persistent change in soil chemistry extends the ability to estimate PMI beyond the traditionally utilized methods of entomology and taphonomy in support of medical-legal investigations, humanitarian recovery efforts, and criminal and civil cases.
Subject(s)
Postmortem Changes , Soil/chemistry , Ammonium Compounds/analysis , Body Mass Index , Cadaver , Calcium/analysis , Carbon/analysis , Forensic Sciences/methods , Humans , Magnesium/analysis , Nitrates/analysis , Nitrogen/analysis , Phosphates/analysis , Regression Analysis , Sodium/analysisABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To address the effects of a novel synthetic triterpenoid, 2-cyano-3,12-dioxoolean-1,9-dien-28-oic acid (CDDO), on the induction of matrix metalloproteinases 1 and 13 (MMP-1, MMP-13) by inflammatory cytokines. METHODS: Human chondrosarcoma cells stimulated with inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1beta [IL-1beta], tumor necrosis factor alpha) were used to study the effects of CDDO on the induction of MMPs and the invasion of cells through a collagen matrix. RESULTS: CDDO selectively reduced the induction of MMP-1 and MMP-13 at the levels of messenger RNA and protein. Treatment with CDDO prior to cytokine stimulation enhanced this inhibition, and we demonstrated that CDDO functions at the level of transcription. Additionally, CDDO reduced IL-1beta-mediated invasion of cells through a collagen matrix. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that CDDO is a novel inhibitor of MMP-1 and MMP-13 gene expression mediated by inflammatory cytokines. Thus, CDDO may have therapeutic potential for the inhibition of joint degradation in osteoarthritis.
Subject(s)
Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic/drug effects , Interleukin-1/pharmacology , Matrix Metalloproteinase 1/genetics , Oleanolic Acid/pharmacology , Bone Neoplasms , Cell Division/drug effects , Cell Movement/drug effects , Chondrosarcoma , Collagen/metabolism , Collagenases/genetics , Extracellular Matrix/enzymology , Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic/immunology , Humans , Matrix Metalloproteinase 13 , Oleanolic Acid/analogs & derivatives , Osteoarthritis/drug therapy , Osteoarthritis/immunology , Osteoarthritis/metabolism , RNA, Messenger/analysis , RNA, Nuclear/analysis , Substrate Specificity/physiology , Tumor Cells, Cultured/cytology , Tumor Cells, Cultured/drug effects , Tumor Cells, Cultured/enzymologyABSTRACT
The present study was designed to investigate whether 3- to 5-year-olds can recognize numerical equivalence for comparisons involving sequentially presented sets. The relation between accurate numerical-equivalence judgments and acquisition of the conventional counting system also was explored. The results indicate that children recognize numerical equivalence for static sets earlier than for sequential sets. Furthermore, memory for the number of sequentially presented objects emerges earlier than memory for the number of sequential events. Finally, conventional counting ability is linked to success on comparisons involving sequential sets but not on those involving static sets. The implications of these findings for models of nonverbal quantification are discussed.
Subject(s)
Child Development , Concept Formation , Problem Solving , Child, Preschool , Discrimination Learning , Female , Humans , Male , Mental Recall , Serial LearningABSTRACT
Three- to 7-year-olds' ability to calculate with whole-number, fraction, and mixed-number amounts was tested using a nonverbal task in which an amount was displayed and then hidden (J. Huttenlocher, N. C. Jordan, & S. C. Levine, 1994). Next, an amount was added to or subtracted from the hidden amount. The child's task was to determine the hidden amount that resulted from the transformation. Although fraction problems were more difficult than whole-number problems, competence on all problem types emerged in the early childhood period. Furthermore, there were striking parallels between the development of whole-number and fraction calculation. This is inconsistent with the hypothesis that early representations of quantity promote learning about whole numbers but interfere with learning about fractions (e.g., R. Gelman, 1991; K. Wynn, 1995, 1997).
Subject(s)
Child Development , Concept Formation , Problem Solving/physiology , Size Perception/physiology , Age Factors , Analysis of Variance , Child , Child, Preschool , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Judgment/physiology , Logic , Male , Mathematics , Nonverbal CommunicationABSTRACT
This article examines an important finding from the literature on infant numerical competence. The finding, reported by P. Starkey, E. S. Spelke, and R. Gelman (1990), was that infants looked longer toward a visual display that was equal in number to an auditory set. In Experiment 1, when the procedures described by P. Starkey et al. were followed and duration was held constant across auditory sequences that varied in number, infants looked longer toward the display that was not numerically equivalent to the auditory set. In Experiment 2, when the rate and duration of the auditory sequences were varied randomly within infants, no significant preference for either the equivalent or nonequivalent visual display was shown. These results raise questions about P. Starkey et al.'s claims that infants can represent the numerosity of sets in different modalities and then perform one-one correspondence computations over them.
Subject(s)
Attention , Problem Solving , Psychology, Child , Auditory Perception , Discrimination Learning , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Pattern Recognition, VisualABSTRACT
The present study investigated the ability of 3- and 4-year-old children to perform tasks which require matching sets of sounds to numerically equivalent visual displays. We found that 3-year-olds performed at chance on the auditory-visual matching task, while 4-year-olds performed significantly above chance. There is evidence that mastery of the linguistic counting system is related to success on this task. These findings are unexpected given previous research reporting that 6-8-month-olds can detect the numerical equivalence between a set of sounds and items in a visual display.
Subject(s)
Auditory Perception , Child, Preschool , Cognition , Psychology, Child , Visual Perception , Age Factors , Female , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
Spiritual care has reemerged as a critical concern in nursing care. It is assumed that to provide spiritual care, nurses have a personal spiritual perspective. This study investigates the spiritual perspectives of a convenience sample of 50 mental health nurses employed in a public facility. The nurses' spiritual perspectives were measured using Reed's (1986a) Spiritual Perspective Scale (SPS). Due to the homogeneous nature of the sample and a clustering of SPS scores, the Wilcoxin Signed-Ranks Test was used to evaluate the data. Although no variables were identified as significant contributors to an individual nurse's spiritual perspective, an overall high SPS was found among the mental health nurses surveyed. The mental health nurses' SPS score mean (5.334, SD = .56) was notably higher than found i previous studies using the SPS (Reed, 1986a, 1991).
Subject(s)
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Nursing Staff, Hospital/psychology , Pastoral Care/methods , Psychiatric Nursing/methods , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Nursing Methodology Research , Nursing Staff, Hospital/education , Psychiatric Nursing/education , Statistics, Nonparametric , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
The appetitive properties of MK801 were investigated using the conditioned place preference paradigm. Male Sprague-Dawley rats received conditioned place preference training for a four-day period. The conditioning box consisted of three chambers with distinctive visual and tactile cues, separated by removable doors. On alternating days rats received MK801 (0.05, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 mg/kg) paired with one side of the chamber and saline paired with the other side. On the fifth day, rats were placed in the center chamber and the time spent in each chamber, as well as entries into each chamber were recorded by a trained observer. MK801 produced a conditioned place preference for side paired with drug for the four highest doses. Contrary to previous findings, these results indicate that MK801 is appetitive at doses higher than has previously been assumed.
