Psychology's Role in Health in Canada: Reaction to Romanow and Marchildon.

The article reacts to Romanow and Marchildon's article (see record 2003-09748-001). Notwithstanding its high cost, the current Canadian health-care system provides Canadians with minimal access to publicly funded psychological services in spite of their demonstrated efficacy, comparative cost advantages, minimal risk of adverse treatment effects, and the public's preference for these services. Psychological services are now available not only for mental health problems but also for a wide range of physical health problems. A great deal of illness is preventable; population health research has illuminated the links between illness and risky individual behaviours, which are amenable to psychological intervention. These approaches have been shown to be effective in promoting health-enhancing behaviours that reduce morbidity and mortality. Nevertheless, the primary focus of the present health-care system is on the increasingly expensive detection and treatment of disease, often with expensive equipment and pharmaceuticals, rather than on the prevention of illness and health promotion. We believe that the current Canadian health-care system is not sustainable in the long run in its present form. We urge governments to act to provide Canadians with greater access to psychological services and we urge psychology education and training programs to ensure that students are adequately prepared to assume a larger role in a reformed health-care system. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

G. Stanley Hall's Adolescence: Brilliance and nonsense.

G. Stanley Hall's two-volume work on adolescence is assessed from the perspective of modern psychology, 100 years after he published it. A surprising number of similarities exist between Hall's views of adolescence and our own, and several of those similarities are discussed here. Some of the most striking differences between Hall's views and the views of today's psychologists are also discussed, specifically, Hall's grounding of his beliefs about adolescent development in a Lamarckian evolutionary psychology that assumed the inheritance of acquired characteristics and memories; his views of sexuality, especially masturbation; and his claim that religious conversion is normative in adolescence. The cultural and historical context of Hall's views is then discussed, with an emphasis on how an awareness of the context of Hall's views can enhance our awareness of the context of our own views today. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prosthetic valve endocarditis: clinicopathologic analysis of 22 necropsy patients with comparison observations in 74 necropsy patients with active infective endocarditis involving natural left-sided cardiac valves

Clinical and morphologic features are described in 22 necropsy patients with endocarditis involving rigid-framed prosthetic valves: aortic in 15 patients and mitral in 7. The interval from valve replacement to onset of symptoms of prosthetic valve endocarditis was less than 2 months in 8 patients and longer than 2 months in 14 patients. The most frequent infecting organism was the Staphylococcus (13 patients). In each of the 22 patients the infection was located behind the site of attachment of the prosthesis to the valve ring, and the infection spread to adjacent structures in 13 patients, 11 of whom had aortic prostheses. Prosthetic detachment causing severe regurgitation occurred in 12 of the 15 patients with an infected aortic valve prosthesis, and in 2 of the 7 with an infected mitral valve prosthesis. Prosthetic obstruction by vegetative material occurred in 5 of 7 patients with prosthetic mitral infection and in only 1 of 15 with prosthetic aortic infection. High degrees of conduction defects developed in seven patients with aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis: complete heart block in five, and complete left bundle branch block in two. Comparison of observations in the 22 patients with prosthetic valve endocarditis with those in 74 patients with active infective endocarditis involving natural left-sided cardiac valves revealed significant (P less than 0.05) differences in the percent with ring abscess, hemodynamic consequences of the endocarditis (valve stenosis), frequency of Staphylococcus as the causative organism and percent with complete heart block or left bundle branch block. No significant differences were observed between the two groups when comparing age, sex, type of underlying valve disease or frequency of organ infarcts of splenomegaly.     

Expression of an unusual Bw4 epitope by a subtype of HLA-B8 [B*0802]

A clinical case of craniofacial dysplasia, with multiple and complex congenital anomalies, is presented. The clinical modifications noticed are systematized in four groups: cerebral, ocular, facial and vertebral. The case is a form of cerebrofacial display, associated with anophthalmos, orbitopalpebral chist and vertebral modifications. There are discussed problems of differential diagnosis, pathogeny and therapeutical attitude.     

Magnetic properties of mismatched coupled films

Magnetically coupled thin films have proven useful in the development of high density NDRO magnetic thin film memory devices. This communication reports the variation in magnetic properties of both films comprising the film pair as a function of the interlayer thickness.     

Characterization of doped Nd-based superconductors

Y-, Dy-, and Gd-doped neodymium (Nd) superconductors (RE_0.1Nd_0.9Ba₂-Cu₃O_y) exhibited sharp resistivity transitions at 92 K. DC susceptibility measurements gave a common curve with diamagnetic onsets at 93 K and transitions complete at 50 K. Lattice constants for an assumed orthorhombic structure were calculated from X-ray diffraction measurements. These values were used to create a simulated diffraction pattern with 2 values and relative intensities that agreed well with observed values. Oxygen contents determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis, ranged from 14.7 to 15.1±0.1 wt%(6.59y in O _y 6.73). This range of oxygen content for YBa₂Cu₃O _y gives 50–60 K transitions in marked contrast to the 92 K (midpoint) values for the materials of this study.     

Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties.

Emerging adulthood is proposed as a new conception of development for the period from the late teens through the twenties, with a focus on ages 18–25. A theoretical background is presented. Then evidence is provided to support the idea that emerging adulthood is a distinct period demographically, subjectively, and in terms of identity explorations. How emerging adulthood differs from adolescence and young adulthood is explained. Finally, a cultural context for the idea of emerging adulthood is outlined, and it is specified that emerging adulthood exists only in cultures that allow young people a prolonged period of independent role exploration during the late teens and twenties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optical pump-terahertz probe spectroscopy utilizing a cavity-dumpedoscillator-driven terahertz spectrometer

A terahertz spectrometer capable of steady-state and time-resolved measurements over the 0.1-3.5-THz spectral region has been built. This spectrometer routinely produces and detects terahertz pulses that exhibit signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) greater than 6000 in the time domain and a spectral noise door of magnitude 2.7×10^-4. Hence, the spectrometer achieves nearly four decades of dynamic range in the frequency domain. Two pulse generation processes are observed to give rise to the measured terahertz pulse. High-quality optical pump-terahertz probe data on 〈111〉 GaAs samples are presented, demonstrating the applicability of this spectrometer to the study of optically induced dynamical processes. Non-Drude relaxation behavior is observed in the transient terahertz spectra     

Effects of vitamin A supplementation and weaning age on serum and liver retinol concentrations, carcass traits, and lipid composition in market beef cattle

Angus crossbred steers (n = 48) were either early-weaned (EW) at 137 days or weaned at a traditional age (TW) of 199 days to determine effects of weaning age and dietary vitamin A on serum and liver retinol, carcass traits, and lipid composition. Steers from both weaning ages were allotted to receive either 42,180 IU vitamin A/day (HA) or no supplemental vitamin A (NA). Early-weaned and TW steers consumed vitamin A treatments for 235 and 175 days, respectively. Serum and liver retinol of HA steers were dramatically higher (P < 0.01) than those of NA steers at the end of finishing. Steers were harvested in two groups 35 days apart at an average ultrasound 12th rib fat thickness of 1.0 cm. Live and HCW were similar (P > 0.10) between NA and HA steers, but HA steers had numerically greater (P  0.10) fat thickness (1.05 vs. 0.87 cm). Marbling score and %IMF fat were numerically (P > 0.10) higher for EWNA than EWHA steers. Ratio of marbling score/12th rib fat thickness was greater (P = 0.08), and ratios of either marbling or %IMF per unit of 12th rib fat thickness, days on finishing diet, unit of HCW, and tenth of yield grade consistently favored steers fed NA, particularly EW steers. Proportions of serum fatty acids changed (P < 0.05) during finishing; proportions of individual fatty acids of the longissimus muscle did not change. Restricting vitamin A during finishing has potential to increase carcass marbling and to decrease waste fat, particularly for EW.     

The neglected 95%, a challenge to psychology.

Responds to the comments of LoSchiavo F. M. and Shatz M. A. (see record 2009-13007-013); Webster G. D., Nichols A. L., and Schember T. O. (see record 2009-13007-014); Stroebe W. and Nijstad B. (see record 2009-13007-015); and Haeffel et al. (see record 2009-13007-016) on the author's original article (see record 200814338-003) regarding the assertion that American psychology focuses too narrowly on Americans while neglecting the other 95% of the world’s population. The author indicates that the four comments were well chosen in that they represent quite different reactions to his article. In this rejoinder the author addresses the issues raised in each of the comments, first the two supporting comments and then the two opposing comments. Following this, he addresses the more general problem that cuts across the comments: American psychology’s dominant philosophy of science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)