Selenium-72 formation via nat Br(p,x) induced by 100 MeV protons: steps towards a novel 72Se/72As generator system.

Selenium-72 production by the proton bombardment of a natural NaBr target has been successfully demonstrated at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Isotope Production Facility (LANL-IPF). Arsenic-72 (half life 26 h) is a medium-lived positron emitting radionuclide with the major advantage of being formed as the daughter of another "generator" radioisotope (Se-72, 8.5 d). A (72)Se/(72)As generator would be the preferred mechanism for clinical utilization of (72)As for positron emission tomography (PET). No portable (72)Se/(72)As generator system has been demonstrated for convenient, repeated (72)As elution ("milking"). In this work, we describe (72)Se production and recovery from irradiated NaBr targets using a 100 MeV proton beam. We also introduce an (72)As generator principle based on (72)Se chelation followed by liquid-liquid extraction, which will be transferred to a solid-phase sorption/elution system.

Individualized stress management for primary hypertension: a randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE: To test the efficacy of individualized stress management for primary hypertension in a randomized clinical trial with the use of ambulatory blood pressure (BP) measures. METHODS: Men and women aged 28 to 75 years with mean ambulatory BP greater than 140/90 mm Hg received 10 hours of individualized stress management by means of semistandardized treatment components. They were randomly assigned to immediate treatment (n = 27) or a wait list control group (n = 33). Participants on the wait list were subsequently offered treatment. Six-month follow-up data were available from 36 of the 45 participants who completed treatment. Measures were 24-hour ambulatory BP, lipid levels, weight, and psychological measures. RESULTS: Blood pressure was significantly reduced in the immediate treatment group and did not change in control subjects (-6.1 vs +0.9 mm Hg for systolic and -4.3 vs +0.0 mm Hg for diastolic pressure). When the wait list control group was later treated, BP was similarly reduced by -7.8 and -5.2 mm Hg, and for the combined sample, total change at follow-up was -10.8 and -8.5 mm Hg. Level of BP at the beginning of treatment was correlated with BP change (r = 0.45 [P<.001] and 0.51 [P<.001], respectively), and amount of systolic BP change was positively correlated with reduction in psychological stress (r = 0.34) and change in anger coping styles (r = 0.35-0.41). CONCLUSIONS: Individualized stress management is associated with ambulatory BP reduction. The effects were replicated and further improved by follow-up. Reductions in psychological stress and improved anger coping appear to mediate the reductions in BP change.

Alexithymia, defensiveness and cardiovascular reactivity to stress.

This article attempts to further our understanding of alexithymia by testing two conceptual questions about the construct: (a) Is alexithymia characterized by reduced autonomic activity? and (b) Can it be clearly distinguished from defensiveness? Eighty healthy university students completed a battery of personality scales including the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, measures of self-deception and impression management, depression, and anger-in. They also participated in three lab stress tasks: isometric handgrip; mental arithmetic; and a negative affect provocation task. Blood pressure and heart rate were monitored throughout the lab procedure. Analyses were conducted with tercile groups of low, medium, and high alexithymia scorers. The "high alexithymia" tercile showed smaller heart rate responses to the stress tasks and more anger-in behavior. Blood pressure responses did not differentiate the low/ medium/high alexithymia subgroups. Alexithymia scores were unrelated to defensiveness, that is, there was no relationship between alexithymia and impression management or self-deception, and alexithymia was unrelated to depression. We conclude that students defined as "high alexithymia" on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale are not self-deceptive nor do they try to leave a particular impression; they tend to be somewhat hypoaroused autonomically, and they report as many psychological distress symptoms as do subjects with lower TAS scores.

Sex differences in social support, self-deception, hostility, and ambulatory cardiovascular activity.

The quality of the social network, ambulatory cardiovascular indices, and other health risks were assessed in 129 students. Ss carried an ambulatory monitor for a working day and completed a social support scale, an index of daily stress, and measures of anger expression, hostility, depression, and self-deception. Alcohol intake and skinfold thickness were assessed. Results indicated that quality of social support was related in an inverse manner to ambulatory systolic pressure in women only. Stepwise multiple regression confirmed that social support was an independent predictor of daily systolic pressure for women and was not confounded with subjective stress. For men, tendencies to self-deception and high hostility were independently related to elevated blood pressure and heart rate.