Acetate uptake from ambient water by the free-living marine nematodeAdoncholaimus thalassophygas

Nematodes belonging to the family Oncholaimidae are known to aggregate at sites of organic pollution. The oncholaimidAdoncholaimus thalassophygas (De Man, 1876), collected from the Weser Estuary, FRG, in 1989, has the capability to take up acetate at naturally occurring concentrations. Under almost axenic conditions, ca 2.3 to 3.0 ng sodium acetate was taken-up per worm within 24 h, when an ambient concentration of 0.33 mmol was offered. The concentration factor was ca 8.5 to 11.1. The results suggest that a highly motile oxybiotic nematode may benefit from the fermentation products of anoxic habitats.Contribution No. 251 of the Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research     

Chemical structure and biological activities of lipid A's from various bacterial families

The endotoxic principle of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) is localized in their lipid A component. Biological effects of LPS on, for instance, body temperature, blood pressure, and blood picture, are also induced by free lipid A. In contrast to the great variability of the 0-specific chains, the chemical structure of lipid A is much more constant. It is common for Salmonella and similar for other genera of the Enterobacteriaceae. Recently, a number of lipid A's have been recognized that exhibited distinct structural features compared with Enterobacteriaceae. These lipid A's were found to be also distinct with regard to some of their biological properties.     

Rapid karyotyping in prenatal diagnosis: A comparative study of the ‘pipette method’ and the ‘in situ’ technique for chromosome harvesting

Rapid karyotyping in the second and third trimesters has important implications for the management of pregnancies at risk. From September 1985 to March 1992, 735 amniotic fluid samples sent to our laboratory for rapid karyotyping from 64 different diagnostic centres of the Federal Republic of Germany were included in a comparative study on harvesting for chromosome analysis using the ‘pipette method’ or the ‘in situ’ technique. The average time between preparation of the amniotic fluid and verbal notification of the analysed karyotype was 5·41 days. The ‘pipette method’ needed on average 4·65 days, and the ‘in situ’ technique 5·97 days. In comparison with other more invasive techniques available for rapid karyotyping such as cordocentesis and placental biopsy, amniocentesis and subsequent chromosome harvesting using the ‘pipette method’ and/or the ‘in situ’ technique proved very useful and efficient. The overall incidence of chromosome aberrations was 15·3 per cent. The high rate of structural chromosome aberrations and uncommon aneuploidies found in our investigation (12 per cent) indicates that for rapid karyotyping in the second and third trimesters, conventional cytogenetic techniques cannot be replaced by faster techniques based on fluorescent in situ hybridization on interphase cells in the near future.     

German taxi drivers' experiences and expressions of driving anger: Are the driving anger scale and the driving anger expression inventory valid measures?

Objective: The objective of this article was 2-fold: firstly, we wanted to examine whether the original Driving Anger Scale (DAS) and the original Driving Anger Expression Inventory (DAX) apply to German professional taxi drivers because these scales have previously been given to professional and particularly to nonprofessional drivers in different countries. Secondly, we wanted to examine possible differences in driving anger experience and expression between professional German taxi drivers and nonprofessional German drivers.

Methods: We applied German versions of the DAS, the DAX, and the State–Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) to a sample of 138 professional German taxi drivers. We then compared their ratings to the ratings of a sample of 1,136 nonprofessional German drivers (Oehl and Brandenburg n.d. Oehl M, Brandenburg S. Driving anger in Germany: validation of the Driving Anger Scale (DAS). Saf Sci. n.d. submitted.  [Google Scholar]).

Results: Regarding our first objective, confirmatory factor analysis shows that the model fit of the DAS is better for nonprofessional drivers than for professional drivers. The DAX applies neither to professional nor to nonprofessional German drivers properly. Consequently, we suggest modified shorter versions of both scales for professional drivers. The STAXI applies to both professional and nonprofessional drivers. With respect to our second objective, we show that professional drivers experience significantly less driving anger than nonprofessional drivers, but they express more driving anger.

Conclusions: We conclude that the STAXI can be applied to professional German taxi drivers. In contrast, for the DAS and the DAX we found particular shorter versions for professional taxi drivers. Especially for the DAX, most statements were too strong for German drivers to agree to. They do not show behaviors related to driving anger expression as they are described in the DAX. These problems with the original American DAX items are in line with several other studies in different countries. Future investigations should examine whether (professional) drivers from further countries express their anger as proposed by the DAX. In addition, professional drivers experience less driving anger (DAS) and less general trait anger (STAXI) than nonprofessional drivers, but they report more driving anger expression (DAX) and more current general state anger (STAXI). Subsequent studies should therefore focus on different types of anger within the group of professional drivers.