Chronic intermittent psychosocial stress (social defeat/overcrowding) in mice increases the severity of an acute DSS-induced colitis and impairs regeneration.

Ulcerative colitis is a multifactorial disease, with immunological, genetic, and environmental factors playing an important role in its pathogenesis. Here we investigated the consequences of exposure to chronic psychosocial stress on the severity of a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in male C57BL/6 mice. Chronic stress was induced by repeated exposure to social defeat (SD, 2 h) and overcrowding (OC, 24 h) during 19 consecutive days. SD/OC mice showed a diminished body weight gain, thymus-atrophy, and adrenal hypertrophy, but similar light-phase plasma corticosterone concentrations, compared with unstressed mice. In contrast, the rise in dark-phase corticosterone concentration was significantly attenuated in SD/OC mice, whereas plasma ACTH concentrations and hypothalamic CRH mRNA expression did not differ between stressed and nonstressed groups. Additionally, adrenal cells from SD/OC mice showed a decreased in vitro response to ACTH stimulation. Subsequent treatment with 1% DSS for 7 d resulted in a more severe intestinal inflammation in SD/OC mice, as reflected by an increase in body weight loss, histological damage scores, and secretion of IL-6, TNFalpha, and interferon-gamma from mesenteric lymph node cells and by decreased colon length. The impaired health status of stressed mice was also reflected by a significantly lower survival rate after termination of the DSS treatment. In conclusion, the present findings demonstrate that chronic intermittent exposure to a psychosocial stressor before the induction of acute DSS-colitis results in adrenal insufficiency, increases in the severity of the acute inflammation, and impairs the healing phase.

Task-specific preference for numeric keypads.

The present study examined task-specific user preferences for two numeric keypads. Eight scenarios describing numerical entry tasks were presented to 100 subjects. For each scenario, subjects were to choose the keypad of their choice between the ADD(ing machine) and TEL(ephone) arrangements. Scenarios including entering telephone numbers, the subject's personal identification number, other identification numbers, single digits, and mathematical calculations. A repeated-measures ANOVA showed a significant main effect for scenario on preference. When scenarios described telephone number entry tasks, preference for TEL was as high as 82%, whereas preference for TEL was as low as 50% when the scenario described mathematical calculations. It is suggested that task-specific preferences may be valuable design considerations, and could correspond to task-specific performance differences.

Interaction of instructions with the recall strategy actually used in a paired-associates learning task.

Previous research suggests that interactive imagery produces memory performance superior to separation imagery, although the effects of instructions are less clear. Paired-associate learning was used to examine the effects of instructions (general memory, separation imagery, and interactive imagery) on recall, the frequency of using memory strategies (nonimaginal, separate image, and interactive image), and strategies' effectiveness. The numbers of correctly recalled items were fewer for subjects given general memory instructions than for subjects given separation or interactive imagery instructions which were not different from each other. Subjects reported using a variety of strategies. However, subjects given separation imagery instructions were more likely to report an interactive image than a separate image, and equally as likely to use interactive imagery as subjects given interactive imagery instructions. The present data suggest that subjects can effectively use a variety of memory strategies.

[The medical record at the center of medical informatics]. / Die Krankengeschichte im Zentrum der medizinischen Informatik.

Several areas in medical institutions, particularly the technical and administrative ones have been governed by computers for a long time. The proper medical work field (diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, correspondence and billing) however has hitherto mostly been ignored by data processing. We describe an electronic medical record introduced 4 years ago. All aspects of medical practise and all the specialists involved in patient care are integrated in the electronic document. In the center is a medical base of knowledge adaptable to all specialties as well as an expert system for direct control of the data entered by all concerned persons.