Multifractal analysis as an aid in the diagnostics of mental disorders.

The digitalization of EEGs (electroencephalogram) has showed new possibilities for analyzing electrical activity of brain. This has offered new methods, e.g. multifractal analysis of 1/f(beta) EEG rhythms fluctuations. It is one of highly mathematical methods feasible in routine practice now that modern personal computers (PCs) have reached sufficient computing power. In this study, we applied the multifractal analysis of 1/f(beta) EEG rhythms fluctuations in 33 patients suffering from schizophrenia and schizophrenia-like syndromes, and we had 23 healthy controls. Our results indicated that the patients suffering from schizophrenia have statistically different values compared with the controls. This method is rather easy and quick to perform when using a standard PC. It may have the potential to become an important tool in the diagnostics and analysis of the patients with schizophrenia and schizophreniformic psychoses. It can help to understand the quasi-chaotic processes in neural processing and narrow the gap between the phenomenological psychiatry and bio-psychiatry.

Informed consent: an overview.

The patient, as a health care consumer, has a fundamental right to determine what shall be done to his or her own body. The doctrine of informed consent has evolved to protect that right. This article represents a review of the literature regarding the informed consent process in medicine, with an emphasis on consent for anesthesia. A brief history of informed consent is provided, as well as discussion of the controversies surrounding the topic. Several court cases are cited, and the opinions of various authors reflect the wide range of legal and ethical implications associated with informed consent.

Dual role for fimbriata in regulating floral homeotic genes and cell division in Antirrhinum.

The fimbriata (fim) gene of Antirrhinum affects both the identity and arrangement of organs within the flower, and encodes a protein with an F-box motif. We show that FIM associates with a family of proteins, termed FAPs (FIM-associated proteins), that are closely related to human and yeast Skp1 proteins. These proteins form complexes with F-box-containing partners to promote protein degradation and cell cycle progression. The fap genes are expressed in inflorescence and floral meristems in a pattern that incorporates the domain of fim expression, supporting an in vivo role for a FIM-FAP complex. Analysis of a series of novel fim alleles shows that fim plays a key role in the activation of organ identity genes. In addition, fim acts in the regions between floral organs to specify the correct positioning and maintenance of morphological boundaries. Taking these results together, we propose that FIM-FAP complexes affect both gene expression and cell division, perhaps by promoting selective degradation of regulatory proteins. This may provide a mechanism by which morphological boundaries can be aligned with domains of gene expression during floral development.

The FLO10 Gene Product Regulates the Expression Domain of Homeotic Genes AP3 and PI in Arabidopsis Flowers.

We describe a novel mutant of Arabidopsis, Flo10, which is the result of a recessive allele, flo10, in the nuclear gene FLO10. The first three organ whorls (sepals, petals, and stamens) of Flo10 flowers are normal, but the fourth, gynoecial whorl is replaced by two to eight stamens or stamen-carpel intermediate organs. Studies of ontogeny suggest that the position of the first six of these fourth-whorl organs often resembles that of the wild-type third-whorl organs. To determine the interaction of the FLO10 gene with the floral organ homeotic genes APETALA2 (AP2), PISTILLATA (PI), AP3, and AGAMOUS (AG), we generated lines homozygous for flo10 and heterozygous or homozygous for a recessive allele of the homeotic genes. On the basis of our data, we suggest that FLO10 functions to prevent the expression of the AP3/PI developmental pathway in the gynoecial (fourth) whorl.

LEAFY, a Homeotic Gene That Regulates Inflorescence Development in Arabidopsis.

Variation in plant shoot structure may be described as occurring through changes within a basic unit, the metamer. Using this terminology, the apical meristem of Arabidopsis produces three metameric types sequentially: type 1, rosette; type 2, coflorescence-bearing with bract; and type 3, flower-bearing without bract. We describe a mutant of Arabidopsis, Leafy, homozygous for a recessive allele of a nuclear gene LEAFY (LFY), that has an inflorescence composed only of type 2-like metamers. These data suggest that the LFY gene is required for the development of type 3 metamers and that the transition from type 2 to type 3 metamers is a developmental step distinct from that between vegetative and reproductive growth (type 1 to type 2 metamers). Results from double mutant analysis, showing that lfy-1 is epistatic to the floral organ homeotic gene ap2-6, are consistent with the hypothesis that a functional LFY gene is necessary for the expression of downstream genes controlling floral organ identity.

Ilionguinal-iliohypogastric nerve entrapment.

Ilionguinal-iliohypogastric nerve entrapment was described as early as 1942 as a rare but proven cause of chronic inguinal pain in patients with previous lower abdominal surgery. We describe two cases of patients who presented to the emergency care unit with complaints of chronic lower abdominal pain. Surgical histories revealed known risk factors for ilioinguinal-iliohypogastric nerve entrapment. After application of a simple bedside procedure, the diagnoses were confirmed.