Gender differences in perceptions of household labor.

The perceptions of household labor contributions of 277 individuals were examined. At the time of the study, participants were married or cohabiting, although no couples participated. The relationship between perceptions of contributions to household labor and the independent variables of gender ideology, a wife's relative contribution to family income, a husband's time availability, and family demographic variables were studied. Responses of people in dual-earner arrangements were compared with responses of people in households in which the woman was a full-time homemaker. In dual-earner families, the woman's relative contribution to family income and number of children were negatively associated with perceptions of her contributions to household tasks relative to those of her partner. In both dual-earner arrangements and situations in which the wife was a full-time homemaker, a statistically significant association was found between the perceived division of household labor and gender. Women were more likely than men to report that a women contributes significantly more to housework than the man. Men in dual-earner relationships reported the smallest contribution to household labor by women.

Identification of a hypoperfused segment in bull's-eye myocardial perfusion images using a feed forward neural network.

Artificial neural networks are computer systems which can be trained to recognize similarities in patterns and which learn by example; one of the more straightforward types being the feed forward neural network (FFNN). We previously reported the use of FFNNs for classification of hypoperfusion patterns in bull's-eye representation of 201Tl single photon emission tomography myocardial perfusion studies and showed that, when such an image was divided into 24 segments, FFNNs could detect perfusion defects without direct comparison to a normal data base. This has been extended in this investigation to assess the ability of an FFNN, trained on data in which only a single segment was hypoperfused, to detect this abnormal segment when the hypoperfusion pattern of the other segments in the image varied. The results indicated that the network could reliably determine whether a segment was normally or under perfused, with accuracies of 99% and 100%, respectively, if all other segments were normally perfused. It could also reliably detect a normally perfused segment, even if other segments were hypoperfused, with accuracies of 95% and 98%. The network was less reliable, however, in detecting a hypoperfused segment when other segments were also hypoperfused, showing accuracies of only 74% and 88%.

Physiological responses of beef cattle to Gulf Coast tick (Acari: Ixodidae) infestations.

Nine yearling crossbred beef steers, Bos taurus L., were used to examine physiological responses to Gulf Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum Koch, infestation. Steers were stanchioned indoors in individual environmentally controlled rooms. On day 0, each animal received 0, 25, or 75 pairs of ticks. Physiological variables measured daily were feed intake, heart rates, rectal temperatures, and respiration rates. Blood samples were collected from each animal on days 7, 21, and 42 for serum constituent analysis. To monitor metabolic hormone status, intensive blood samples were collected hourly for 6 h on days 21 and 42. Throughout the treatment period, feed intake values were similar among treatments resulting in comparable body weight at the end of the trial. Heart rates and rectal temperatures were unaffected, however, respiration rates of steers infested with 25 pairs of ticks were higher than the other treatment groups. Treatment effects were detected in uric acid concentrations on day 7 in steers infested with 75 pairs of ticks. Treatment effects were detected in total, direct and indirect bilirubin, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, and aspartate amino transferase concentrations. Likewise, creatine kinase concentrations were higher in the tick-infested steers on day 7. Elevated white blood cell counts were observed in tick-infested steers. All other serum components were similar and were within their normal ranges. Serum insulin, prolactin, growth hormone, and cortisol concentrations were unaffected by tick infestations. Gulf coast tick infestation resulted in altered blood composition indicative of infection caused by tick feeding habits.

A feed forward neural network for classification of bull's-eye myocardial perfusion images.

Identification of hypoperfused areas in myocardial perfusion single-photon emission tomography studies can be aided by bull's-eye representation of raw counts, lesion extent and lesion severity, the latter two being produced by comparison of the raw bull's-eye data with a normal data base. An artificial intelligence technique which is presently becoming widely popular and which is particularly suitable for pattern recognition is that of artificial neural network. We have studied the ability of feed forward neural networks to extract patterns from bull's-eye data by assessing their capability to predict lesion presence without direct comparison with a normal data base. Studies were undertaken on both simulation data and on real stress-rest data obtained from 410 male patients undergoing routine thallium-201 myocardial perfusion scintigraphy. The ability of trained neural networks to predict lesion presence was quantified by calculating the areas under receiver operating characteristic curves. Figures as high as 0.96 for non-preclassified patient data were obtained, corresponding to an accuracy of 92%. The results demonstrate that neural networks can accurately classify patterns from bull's-eye myocardial perfusion images and detect the presence of hypoperfused areas without the need for comparison with a normal data base. Preliminary work suggests that this technique could be used to study perfusion patterns in the myocardium and their correlation with clinical parameters.

Serum constituent profiles of beef heifers infested with horn flies (Diptera: Muscidae).

Nine yearling crossbred beef heifers, Bos taurus L., were used to examine physiological responses to horn fly, Haematobia irritans (L.), infestation. Heifers were stanchioned indoors in individual environmentally controlled rooms. On day 0, each animal received 0, 500, or 1,000 horn flies. Fly numbers were adjusted daily to maintain an appropriate infestation for each heifer. Feed intake, respiration rate, and rectal temperature was recorded daily. In addition, blood samples were collected from each animal on days 0, 12, and 33 for serum constituent analysis. To monitor metabolic hormone status, intensive blood samples were also collected hourly for 6 h on days 0, 12, and 33. Throughout the period of treatment, feed intake values were similar among treatments resulting in comparable body weight at the end of the trial. Respiration rates on each day were similar among groups. Rectal temperature was also unaffected by horn fly infestations. Serum electrolyte analysis revealed that neither Na, K, Cl, Ca, P, nor Fe differed among treatments. Likewise, HCO3/CO2 ratio, anion gap, and serum osmolality did not differ among treatment groups. Major indicators of nutrient status (glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, urea N, creatinine, uric acid, albumin, globulin) and insulin, growth hormone, and prolactin were also unaffected. Serum bilirubin and enzyme (alkaline phosphatase, creatine phosphokinase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, lactic dehydrogenase, aspartate amino transferase, alanine amino transferase) concentrations were similar in control heifers and those infested with horn flies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effect of nonpeptide angiotensin receptor antagonists on water intake and salt appetite in rats.

Nonpeptide angiotensin AT-1 and AT-2 receptor antagonists were administered cerebroventricularly to rats and their effects on various types of angiotensin II (AII)-stimulated water and NaCl intakes examined. The AT-1 receptor blocker, losartan potassium (DUP 753), inhibited water intake evoked by central administration of AII, with the 50% inhibitory dose being less than 0.1 microgram. The functional inhibition by higher doses lasted at least 1 h. The AT-2 receptor antagonist PD 123319 also inhibited AII-induced water intake, but at doses about tenfold higher than losartan. Central, but not peripheral, administration of losartan partially inhibited NaCl intake induced by either sodium depletion, treatment with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (CEIs), or adrenalectomy. PD 123319 partially inhibited NaCl intake induced by both sodium depletion and administration of CEI, but not after adrenalectomy. Another AT-2 receptor antagonist, CGP 42112A, likewise inhibited NaCl intake after sodium deprivation. These data suggest that both AT-1 and AT-2 receptor subtypes in the brain are involved in angiotensin-related water and NaCl intakes.

The concentration of desmethylmisonidazole in human tumours and in cerebrospinal fluid.

The concentration of desmethylmisonidazole (DESMISO) was determined in 60 biopsy samples taken from 13 human tumours and in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 8 patients after oral administration. In comparison with misonidazole (MISO), peak concentrations in plasma were reached at earlier times and half-lives were shorter, so that the area under the curve of plasma concentration with time (AUC) was reduced by 45%; the AUC of CSF concentration with time was reduced by 67%. Between 1 and 2 h after administration of DESMISO, concentrations in tumours were generally 85-90% of those of MISO estimated approximately 4 h after it was given. The two drugs when tested in equimolar concentrations have been found in laboratory experiment to be equally potent as hypoxic cell radiosensitizers. Recognizing the lower mol. wt of DESMISO and the trend to higher concentrations in the more necrotic areas of the tumours studied equal doses by weight of the two drugs given orally may give equal radiosensitization of hypoxic cells in human tumours.