Quality of life and personality disorders in heroin abusers.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to describe the personality disorders (PD) and personality profile of heroin-abusers and their quality of life (QoL), and to investigate the correlation between the two. METHOD: One hundred and eighty heroin-abusers during their residential treatment participated in the study. The Structured Clinical Interview-II (SCID-II) allowed the identification of two subgroups of heroin-abusers on the basis of presence/absence of a PD. All patients filled in the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), the McGill QoL Questionnaire (MQOL) and an anamnestic sheet. A control group of 63 non-clinical subjects was recruited. RESULTS: Abusers with a PD differ in their personality profile from abusers without PD and score lower on the total MQOL. As regards TCI scales, novelty seeking (NS), reward dependence (RD) and self-directedness (SD) predict the age of onset of the abuse, while cooperativeness (C) is a predictor of the number of community admissions. DISCUSSION: Low scores on self-directedness and cooperativeness in abusers support the hypothesis of an immature character and relational difficulties. Novelty seeking is the only dimension which is altered both in abusers with and without a PD and is not strictly dependent on Axis II comorbidity. QoL is lower in abusers than in controls, according to their physical, psychological and existential suffering. Last, an interesting link emerged between personality and perceived QoL.

Anxiety, depression and anger suppression in infertile couples: a controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Although several authors have suggested an important pathogenic role for psychosocial factors in 'functional' infertility, the extent to which depression, anxiety and expressed emotional patterns correlate to infertility is not yet clear. METHODS: This study included 156 infertile couples (recruited at intake) and 80 fertile couples, whose personal characteristics were recorded. They were examined using scales for the evaluation of the degree of psychopathology [Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D)], and anger expression [State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI)]. The 156 infertile couples were then subdivided into groups based on the cause of infertility ('organic', 'functional' or 'undetermined'). The psychometric evaluation was double-blind with respect to the causes of infertility. RESULTS: Differences emerged in the degree of psychopathology between 'organic' and 'functional' infertile subjects and fertile controls. In women, logistic regression identified three variables able to predict the diagnosis subtype; these variables are HAM-A, HAM-D, and tendency toward anger suppression. In men, anger did not emerge as a predictor for diagnosis, whereas HAM-A and HAM-D did. CONCLUSIONS: The 'functional' infertile subjects of this sample showed particular psychopathological and psychological features, independent from the stress reaction following the identification of the cause of infertility.

Synthesis and beta-lactamase inhibitory activity of 6-fluoropenicillanic acids.

The benzyl 6-fluoro-penicillanate sulfides 4a, 6a, 7a; and sulfones 6c, 7d were synthesized. The conversion to their free acids 4b, 6b, 6d, 7b, 7e and potassium salts 7c, 7f are described. These acids and salt 7c were evaluated as beta-lactamase inhibitors using beta-lactamase I from Bacillus cereus. The data indicate that substitution of the 6 alpha-hydrogen by a 6 alpha-fluorine atom on 6 beta-bromopenicillanic acid (1), leads to loss of beta-lactamase inhibitory activity. In the case of the isomers 6 beta- and 6 alpha-fluoropenicillanic acids the 6 beta-enantiomer proved to be considerably more potent. Potassium salts of 6 beta-fluoropenicillanate sulfide and sulfone were unstable in solid state and in water solution. The fragmentation of the sulfone in two parts in water solution is consistent with the hydrolytic behavior to the penicillanic acid sulfone (2) with 0.5 N NaOH.

Assembly of plant ferredoxin-NADP+ oxidoreductase in Escherichia coli requires GroE molecular chaperones.

We have recently reported the expression in Escherichia coli of an enzymatically competent ferredoxin-NADP+ oxidoreductase from cloned pea genes encoding either the mature enzyme or its precursor protein (Ceccarelli, E. A., Viale, A. M., Krapp, A. R., and Carrillo, N. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 14283-14287). Processing to the mature form by bacterial protease(s) and FAD assembly occurred in the bacterial cytosol. Expression of ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase in chaperonin-deficient (groE-) mutants of E. coli resulted in partial reductase assembly at permissive growth temperatures (i.e. 30 degrees C), and in total breakdown of holoenzyme assembly, and accumulation as aggregated inclusion bodies at non-permissive temperatures (i.e. 42 degrees C). Coexpression in these mutants of a cloned groESL operon from the phototrophic bacterium Chromatium vinosum resulted in partial or total recoveries of ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase assembly. The overall results indicate that bacterial chaperonins are required for the productive folding/assembly of eucaryotic ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase expressed in E. coli.