Edwin T. Wright

Some Psychological Effects of Cosmetics

This study represents a pre-post design to determine the possible effects of cosmetics on self-concept in a group of 42 college girls with various degrees of facial blemishes which could not be improved by high standards of hygiene. The MMPI was given to all Ss who then received weekly instruction in the use of cosmetics by a qualified instructor. After 3 mo. use of these agents, the MMPI was again applied. The D scale (Depression) and the Pt scale (Psychasthenia) were selected as sensitive indicators of self-perception; comparison of pre- and post-treatment scores indicated improvement on both scales (D scale, p = .001; Pt scale, p = .02) as a function of the cosmetic.

The treatment of systemic mycoses with orally administered pimaricin: preliminary report.

Pimaricin is a new crystalline antifungal antibiotic derived from Slreptomyces natalensis, originally isolated from a soil sample obtained near Pietermaritzburg, Natal, Union of South Africa. I ts chemical and physical properties have been characterized by Struyk et a1.l and by Dekker and Ark.* It is a tetraene antibiotic and is related to, but not identical with, rimocidin, antimycoin, nystatin, and chromin. These tetraenes are members of a larger group of antibiotics, the majority of which possess fungicidal activity and include such compounds as ampho tericin, trichomycin, ascosin, and candicidin. An empirical formula of C30-32H46-60N013 was assigned early to pimaricin.’ More recently, however, Patrick et ~ 1 . ~ have elucidated the structural formula of p i m a r i ~ i n ~ . ~ (see formula below), the first of the many polyene antifungal antibiotics to have its structure so determined:

Low oxygen tension and discrimination reversal.

An experimental group of 9 cats were trained to a visual form discrimination; the valences of the stimuli were then reversed and the cats were subjected to various levels of oxygen deprivation after which they were tested for retention and reversal performance. A normal control group (N = 9) were trained identically to the experimental group but were not subjected to hypoxia. 10 naive cats constituted the post-hypoxia new-learning group. It was found that 70 min. of oxygen deprivation had a significant effect on retention and reversal performance; one exposure had no observable effect on either function. No differential effects were found on retention or new learning as measured by either retention new-learning or reversal-reversal comparisons.