Undertakers' sense of humor.

A group of 60 middle-aged morticians at a professional seminar in the midwestern USA who completed a multidimensional sense of humor scale scored significantly lower than another group of 136 men from other occupations. The difference between the two groups appeared almost entirely on scale items having to do with humor generation or creativity.

Relocation of the institutionalized aged.

The effects of relocation and institutionalization upon frail older people have been studied extensively for the past several decades and have been a topic of some controversy. Because of varying methodologies, differing populations, overlooked variables, and mistakes in interpretation, this area of epidemiological research has resulted in debate among scholars in the field. It may be helpful to review some of the research that has been done, examine a theory of why mortality seems to increase when older people are involuntarily relocated, speculate upon how this effect might be minimized, and introduce some data that seemingly would confirm that careful planning for relocation might, in fact, reduce subsequent morbidity and mortality.

Methodological note on use of the Center for Epidemiological Studies--Depression Scale with older samples.

Samples of older adults (ns = 600, 251, and 214) given the Center for Epidemiological Studies--Depression Scale by telephone seem to have composite scores that are much lower than those who are interviewed face-to-face.

African- and Euro-American samples differ little in scores on death anxiety.

Samples of 293 students of European heritage and 102 students of African heritage completed the Revised Death Anxiety Scale. Euro-Americans were more concerned with the uncertainty associated with death and with the loss of being, while African Americans expressed greater anxiety over the pain associated with dying, but there was no significant mean difference in total scores for the groups.

14-3-3 proteins are required for maintenance of Raf-1 phosphorylation and kinase activity.

By binding to serine-phosphorylated proteins, 14-3-3 proteins function as effectors of serine phosphorylation. The exact mechanism of their action is, however, still largely unknown. Here we demonstrate a requirement for 14-3-3 for Raf-1 kinase activity and phosphorylation. Expression of dominant negative forms of 14-3-3 resulted in the loss of a critical Raf-1 phosphorylation, while overexpression of 14-3-3 resulted in enhanced phosphorylation of this site. 14-3-3 levels, therefore, regulate the stoichiometry of Raf-1 phosphorylation and its potential activity in the cell. Phosphorylation of Raf-1, however, was insufficient by itself for kinase activity. Removal of 14-3-3 from phosphorylated Raf abrogated kinase activity, whereas addition of 14-3-3 restored it. This supports a paradigm in which the effects of phosphorylation on serine as well as tyrosine residues are mediated by inducible protein-protein interactions.

Age differences in death anxiety among African-American women.

Samples of 83 younger and 52 older African-American women completed a death anxiety scale; the younger women had significantly higher scores on the total scale, principally on items dealing with pain, loss of bodily integrity, and decomposition.

Psychological health and sense of humor.

Scores on the Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale (MSHS) are shown to be related positively to a number of factors associated with psychological health, such as optimism and self esteem, and negatively with signs of psychological distress such as depression. Humor is a multidimensional construct that seems to be intimately related to quality of life.

Undertakers' death anxiety.

A sample of 60 morticians completed the Revised Death Anxiety Scale. Their responses were compared with scores on that scale from 136 men from other occupations. The funeral directors' death anxiety scores were surprisingly high. Perhaps they are less able successfully to repress death fears because of constant occupational exposure to issues related to mortality.

Depression and sense of humor.

This research note provides partial confirmation of a negative relationship between depression and sense of humor previously reported by Deaner and McConatha in 1993. Here, for 213 women and 134 men, r was -.18.

Epidemiology of gambling and depression in an adult sample.

As a relationship has been reported between pathological gambling and depression, the objective of this study was to explore whether there was a relationship between gambling and depression in a sample of 400 adults. No relationship was found.

Sense of humor and dimensions of personality.

Previous researchers have demonstrated relationships between sense of humor and personality. Most have viewed sense of humor from the perspective of humor appreciation. Others have taken the approach that sense of humor has two factors: appreciation and creativity. Our approach has been to look at sense of humor as made up of creativity and several additional elements. The present study reports on the factor analysis of a Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale, as well as correlates of various elements of sense of humor with personality traits assessed by the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule. Relationships by humor scale factors are reported, as are differences between those high and low in sense of humor within a sample of 426 individuals, 18 through 90 years of age.

Relationships of death anxiety and sense of humor.

The Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale and the Revised Death Anxiety Scale were completed by a sample of 426 persons aged 18 to 90 years. Only slight relationships were found. The strongest correlation was between scores on death anxiety and on coping humor.

Identification of apparent dual ANCA specificities in a subset of patients with systemic vasculitis and crescentic glomerulonephritis.

23% of a random selection of ANCA (+) patients had dual, non-cross reactive autoantibody specificities. We found no clinical difference in such patients as compared to those having a single antibody. A second group of ANCA (+) patients had neither anti-MPO nor anti-PR3 autoantibody specificity. These findings suggest that multiple, coincident ANCA specificities occur more commonly than previously reported, and that additional, unidentified ANCA specificities are present in some patients.

Development and validation of a Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale.

Personal sense of humor has been recognized as a coping mechanism. Sense of humor as a construct, however, is multidimensional. Existing efforts to assess overall sense of humor are, for a number of reasons, deficient. The present study reports the development and factor analysis of a new Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale that may be useful in a variety of research and clinical applications.

Inhibition of hematopoietic tumor growth by combined treatment with deferoxamine and an IgG monoclonal antibody against the transferrin receptor: evidence for a threshold model of iron deprivation toxicity.

Recent studies have suggested that iron deprivation may represent a useful new approach in cancer therapy, and several strategies for producing such deprivation are now under investigation. Thus, for example, we recently provided evidence that combined treatment with the iron chelator deferoxamine and an IgG monoclonal antibody against the transferrin receptor (ATRA) produces synergistic inhibition of hematopoietic tumor cell growth in vitro (J. D. Kemp, K. M. Smith, L. J. Kanner, F. Gomez, J. A. Thorson, and P. W. Naumann, Blood, 76: 991-995, 1990). The current study is an attempt to analyze the mechanisms responsible for the synergistic interaction. The data show that a single IgG ATRA can produce up to 75% inhibition of iron uptake while having little effect on DNA synthesis; this suggests that tumor cells either take up or have stored amounts of iron well in excess of that required to support immediate metabolic needs. When deferoxamine and the IgG ATRA are used together, the effects on iron acquisition and receptor down-modulation are either additive or subadditive but are clearly not synergistic. Overall, the findings suggest that the IgG ATRA produces an injury to iron uptake that is just below a critical threshold and that the additional effect provided by the iron chelator is sufficient to exceed that threshold and produce a rapid depletion of iron pools that are vital for short-term DNA synthesis. IgG ATRAS thus seem to be of even greater interest as therapeutic reagents, and further study of their properties and of how they interact with deferoxamine appears to be warranted.

Rural and urban elderly construe health differently.

Samples of people aged 65 or older (N = 396) living in the metropolitan Omaha area and in the rural Sandhills counties of central and western Nebraska completed an instrument to assess health satisfaction, health behaviors, and attitudes toward health care. Few intergroup differences were found that could be attributed to the area of residence. However, factor analysis and item analysis of the attitudes toward health items indicated that older respondents in rural areas may have very different perceptions of health in general and of health care services in particular than those of elderly urban residents.

Effects of anti-transferrin receptor antibodies on the growth of neoplastic cells.

One approach to creating a state of iron deprivation in tumors is to expose them to monoclonal antibodies against the transferrin receptor (ATRAs). This paper reviews the recent history of studies with ATRAs. Both multivalent (IgM or IgA) and bivalent (IgG) ATRAs exhibit anti-tumor activity in vitro and in vivo, but IgG ATRAs appear to be most effective when used with an iron chelator such as deferoxamine or when used in pairs. Much more information is needed in order to understand: (1) how ATRAs work by themselves and in conjunction with chelators; (2) why ATRAs differ from one another in terms of their inhibitory potency; (3) whether ATRAs can be used successfully in conjunction with other anti-tumor agents, and (4) why tumors exhibit marked differences in their sensitivity to the effects of ATRAs. The toxicity of iron deprivation arising from ATRA treatment alone seems modest, but only further experimental work in vivo and in phase-1 clinical trials can determine whether the most recent observations can be converted into truly useful therapeutic tools.

Age differences in health attitudes and beliefs.

In a telephone interview, samples of 196 older and 280 younger adults completed a series of 24 items designed to assess health beliefs. Differences may have implications for health care expenditures now and in the future.