Stereopsis from contrast envelopes.

We report two experiments concerning the site of the principal nonlinearity in second-order stereopsis. The first exploits the asymmetry in perceiving transparency with second-order stimuli found by Langley et al. (1998) (Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 265, 1837-1845) i.e. the product of a positive-valued contrast envelope and a mean-zero carrier grating can be seen transparently only when the disparities are consistent with the envelope appearing in front of the carrier. We measured the energy at the envelope frequencies that must be added in order to negate this asymmetry. We report that this amplitude can be predicted from the envelope sidebands and not from the magnitude of compressive pre-cortical nonlinearities measured by other researchers. In the second experiment, contrast threshold elevations were measured for the discrimination of envelope disparities following adaptation to sinusoidal gratings. It is reported that perception of the envelope's depth was affected most when the adapting grating was similar (in orientation and frequency) to the carrier, rather than to the contrast envelope. These results suggest that the principal nonlinearity in second-order stereopsis is cortical, occurring after orientation- and frequency-selective linear filtering.     

Isolation of functional human coagulation factor V by using a hybridoma antibody

Spleen cells obtained from mice immunized with partially purified human coagulation Factor V were fused with NS-1 mouse myeloma cells, and hybrids were selected. Culture media were screened for anti-Factor V activity, and an antibody-positive clone was obtained and passaged as an ascites tumor in mice. The ascitic fluid from the hybridoma-bearing mouse could be diluted 1:10(6) before losing reactivity in an anti-Factor V radioimmunoassay. When immobilized on agarose, the monoclonal antibody quantitatively removed Factor V activity from human plasma. Factor V activity could be eluted with 1.2 M NaCl at pH 6.5. Homogeneous Factor V was isolated by chromatography of barium citrate-adsorbed, polyethylene glycol 6000 precipitated plasma on the antibody column followed by chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose. The isolated Factor V exhibited a single band upon gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate with an apparent Mr comparable to that of bovine Factor V (330,000). Upon exposure to thrombin, the activity of Factor V increased 53-fold when measured in Factor V-deficient plasma. This increased activity was associated with discrete proteolytic cleavages of the parent molecule.     

Physical health status in relation to self-forgiveness and other-forgiveness in healthy college students

We extended prior research on the medical health-correlates of forgiving others by examining the relationship between self-forgiveness, other-forgiveness and health. Results derived from a cross-sectional survey of 266 healthy undergraduates showed that these dimensions of forgiveness were positively related to perceived physical health. Regression analysis revealed that self-forgiveness uniquely predicted a significant amount of variance in perceived physical health, and predicted more variance than did other-forgiveness. These results are discussed in light of the limitations of the current study and directions for future research.     

Precision in estimating gestational age and its influence on sensitivity of alphafetoprotein screening.

The interpretation of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) concentrations in relation to fetal neural tube defects depends on accurate assessment of the gestational age. In a quadruple-blind study three antenatal methods of assessment--namely, menstrual dates, clinical examination, and ultrasound scanning--were correlated with postnatal assessment using the Dubowitz scoring system. The best agreement to +/- 1 week was obtained using menstrual dates and ultrasound in combination, such agreement being found in 91 (77%) of the 118 women studied. Since serum AFP concentrations vary with gestational age, precise gestational dating is necessary. In many cases, particularly in women who are unsure of their dates or have irregular menstrual cycles, ultrasound examination is needed to supplement clinical findings.