Grossarth-Maticek and colleagues presented longitudinal evidence for personality Type being related to disease. Type 1s (cancer prone) and Type 2s (CHD prone) were proposed to be dependent on others, in contrast to the autonomous Type 4s, who had a lower mortality rate at follow-up. Stress was the mechanism proposed to account for the effects of personality on disease, yet this claim has not been systematically investigated. Four studies compared responses of Type 1, 2 and 4 individuals to stress and non-stress tasks. Types 1 and 2 showed increased salivary cortisol responses to an uncontrollable maths stress task (relative to control) compared to Type 4s, and scored higher on perceived stress, state-anxiety, and measures of negative mood, consistent with the implications of the Grossarth-Maticek hypothesis. No significant differences were evident between the Types in response to progressive muscle relaxation, suggesting stress is necessary for Type differences to emerge. Further, Types 1 and 2 responded differently to different stressors (maths vs. exam), arguing against criticisms that Types 1 and 2 are indistinguishable. The relation between Grossarth-Maticek Type subscales was further clarified through their correlations with each other (controlling for mood, stress and social desirability), and with the Lifestyle Defense Mechanisms (LDM) inventory, a psychometric refinement of the Grossarth-Maticek scales. A prospective study examining mortality rates in a sample exposed to environmental noise stressors revealed no prediction of death or cause of death by Grossarth-Maticek Type. This may have been due to the relative youth of the sample, short (7 year) follow-up period, and consequently low death rate. The current research is the first to show different responses to different stressors between Types 1 and 2, and revealed converging evidence for the claim that stress is the mechanism for Type effects on disease. Additionally, theoretical issues in conceptions of stress, and models of the relation between the Types, stress and disease were considered. This project suggests that after a history of criticisms, the Grossarth-Maticek typology should be re-considered for its public health implications, and along with the LDM inventory, should be considered for further investigation of the relation between personality variables and disease.

Some mounted ill. Bibliography: leaves 80-85.

Bibliography: leaves 209-235.

Bibliography: leaves 132-140.

No description available.

The acanthocephalan Echinorhynchus lageniformis Ekbaum, 1938, is a common intestinal parasite of the starry flounder, Platichthys stellatus (Pallas), of Yaquina Bay, Lincoln Co., Oregon. Three hundred and sixty-one flounders were examined and 146 (40.5 percent) were found to harbor infections of E. lageniformis. Cystacanths of E. lageniformis were found encysted in the body cavity of the starry flounder; this is probably the result of the fish feeding on larval infections not yet mature enough to attach to the intestinal mucosa. As the size of the flounder increased, the percent infection decreased. The smaller fish with the higher incidence of infection were found to be of the size range that ate amphipods, which may be the intermediate host, as the main part of their diet. The older fish do not feed on amphipods. A correlation could not be found between the sex of the starry flounder and the incidence and degree of parasitism. A peak of adult worms was found in April, 1966 - 198 mature females as compared to a low of 30 mature females in December, 1965. This indicates a seasonal periodicity in the E. lageniformis population of Yaquina Bay. Possible explanations for this seasonal occurrence were discussed. It is postulated that E. lageniformis lives in its final host for about a year. The one-year-old plus fish were found to have a high incidence of infection, whereas the two-year plus fish had a low incidence of infection. Twenty-six percent of the worms collected were males and 74 percent were females. Of the 146 infections, 74 were unisexual and 72 were mixed (containing both sexes). In April, 1966, the percent infection was the highest - when there were 20 mixed infections and two unisexual infections. This indicates that all the females have a good chance of being fertilized. The starry flounder intestine reacts to E. lageniformis at the point of attachment. It was observed that the larger the worm, the more severe the reaction. No crowding effects were observed in single species infections of E. lageniformis or in concurrent infections with trematodes. The shelled acanthor larva was found to have four enveloping membranes. Data indicates that when the proboscis reaches a certain length and width, it does not increase in size, although the neck and trunk of the worm do increase in size. / Graduation date: 1967

Graduation date: 1976

Nine isolates of bacteria recovered from fish dying at marine facilities were collected from different geographic areas. The strains included: an isolate from chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) reared in net pens in New Zealand, an isolate from chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) held at a laboratory in Oregon, USA., and seven strains recovered from tilapia (Oreochromis spilurus), silvery black porgy (Acanthopagrus cuvieri), and greasy grouper (Epinenhelus tauvina) cultured in Kuwait. All isolates were characterized by examination of morphological and biochemical properties and were confirmed to be members of the genus Vibrio. All isolates differed phenotypically from each other, from vibrios known to be pathogenic for fish, and from other named Vibrio species. Analysis of key phenotypic characteristics used to establish existing species suggested that the isolates tested were new Vibrio species. Four of the isolates (two from coldwater fish and two from warmwater fish) were selected for further study. This included determination of percent guanine plus cytosine (%G+C), comparison of growth characteristics, analysis of major 0 antigens and testing of pathogenicity. The four isolates examined had an absolute requirement for NaCl. Optimum growth temperatures varied among the isolates and were consistent with the temperature optima of the hosts from which the isolates were obtained. Serological analysis using slide agglutination, microtiter agglutination, and Ouchterlony double diffusion tests detected specific thermostable (0) antigens unique for each of the four isolates. A common minor antigen was observed between two of the other isolates from Kuwait. Experimental infections were produced in fingerling rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) using intraperitoneal injection of the four isolates. The pathogenicity of the two isolates from Kuwait was higher than that of the two salmonid isolates. The strains from Kuwait were used to challenge juvenile chinook salmon by waterborne exposure. The pathology produced by infection was characteristic Gram-negative hemorrhagic septicemia. / Graduation date: 1988

Disseminated neoplasia (DN) is a proliferative cell disorder that occurs in the circulatory system of bivalves. The condition is progressive and lethal. At least 15 species of bivalves over a wide range of geographic locations have been reported to contract DN. Prevalence levels of disseminated neoplasia can reach up to 90% in some populations. In the laboratory, the condition can be transferred to healthy individuals by injection of hemolymph from animals of the same species with high intensity levels of DN. Studies were conducted to investigate transmission of disseminated neoplasia in the soft shell clam, Mya arenaria. It was determined that soft shell clams from two Oregon bays were susceptible to DN by injection, and that the lack of DN in these west coast populations of soft shell clams was not due to disease resistance in these animals. Additionally, it was demonstrated that onset, development of DN, and survival were directly correlated to the number of neoplastic cells injected into the animal. Experiments investigating water-borne transmission showed that the disease is infectious, and an exposure to DN cell in the hemolymph of highly affected clams was sufficient to cause disease. In a cohabitation study, transmission of DN from one DN positive animal to healthy animals was observed, with specific information collected on the length of exposure and DN intensity of the animals involved. Finally, transmission of disseminated neoplasia was not found to be successful using cell-free filtrates prepared from DN cells and DN positive soft shell clam tissue. A PCR enhanced reverse transcriptase assay was employed, and reverse transcriptase activity was detected in samples prepared from DN positive materials. / Graduation date: 1998

Graduation date: 1995