The history of sterility in Antiquity. III. The anatomy and physiology of conception in the work of Soranos of Ephesus

Soranos was highly regarded as the first and the most famous gynecologist in the antiquity. In point of fact, Soranos was not really a gynecologist but, he was the first to write a treatise about "gynecology". This work came down to us incomplete. In this study we analyse the conception's theories of Soranos.     

Loneliness among children and young adolescents.

Investigated differences in loneliness involving parents and peers and the relations between loneliness, choices of a "first comfort figure" (FCF), and social sensitivity as perceived by peers. 60 female and 52 male 5th graders, 97 female and 45 male 7th graders, and 66 female and 73 male 9th graders were given a loneliness scale and a sociometric measure of perceived social sensitivity. Results indicate that age differences in parent-related loneliness were marginally significant. Seventh graders seemed to have fewer loneliness experiences in their relationships with parents than 5th and 9th graders. Boys more frequently reported those feelings than girls. Ss who indicated both parents as their FCFs had the lowest scores for parent-related loneliness, whereas those who indicated friends as their FCFs had the highest scores for parent-related loneliness. With respect to peer-related loneliness, no age or sex differences were found. However, girls who chose both parents as their FCFs were more lonely than boys who did the same, and boys who chose their fathers as their FCFs mentioned more peer-related loneliness feelings than the girls who made this choice. Ss perceived as socially sensitive by their classmates less frequently mentioned peer-related loneliness feelings. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The presence of others does make a difference--sometimes.

Questions, on 2 counts, the conclusion of W. S. Epley (see record 1974-29273-001) that there was no uncontaminated evidence that the physical presence of others is sufficient to decrease self-reported anxiety: (a) the "methodological inadequacy" described by Epley in a pivotal study did not, in fact, exist; and (b) there were some significant interactions between birth order and waiting condition in another study only briefly mentioned in Epley's review. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Incidence of operations in Switzerland related to insurance status

Several studies reported in the literature show that surgical procedures can be carried out for other than clinical indications. In Switzerland, no statistics on the "demography" of surgical procedures are available. But an earlier analysis of the "Swiss Health Survey 1992/93" gave first indications on differences in rates of surgical procedures (hysterectomy, appendectomy, tonsillectomy and operation of the hip and gallbladder) by sex, educational status and region. This study, based on the same datasource (N = 10792), reveals an additional link with the health insurance status. The prevalence of surgical procedures is higher in privately insured than in persons with only basic insurance, independent of age, sex and region. The highest rates of surgical procedures (except tonsillectomy) are found among privately insured persons with a low educational status. Among 25-74 year old privately insured women, the lifetime-prevalence of a hysterectomy is 30% with low and 13% with high educational status (p < .001). The corresponding prevalences of at least one of the mentioned surgical procedures (without tonsillectomy) are 49% versus 28% (p < .001). As these are lifetime-prevalences, these rates do not necessarily reflect the actual surgical procedures. However, an analysis of the period of operation for hysterectomy and for the gallbladder shows the same pattern as the mentioned lifetime-prevalences. Higher rates among privately insured are also a frequent finding in the international literature. These findings should stimulate patients to ask for a "second opinion". Furthermore, there is an urge for the implementation of general hospital statistics to verify such findings. In addition, the scientific consensus on the indication of several surgical procedures should be promoted on the way to more evidence-based-medicine.     

"Models of behavior disorder: A formal analysis based on Woods's Taxonomy of Instrumental Conditioning": Erratum to Tryon.

Reports 2 errors in the original article by W. W. Tryon (American Psychologist, 1976, Vol 7 509–518). On page 512 the left-hand measure, line 11 "first row" should read "first column." On page 514, instead of "Signaled Contingent Reward Conditioning," the 2nd heading should read "Signaled Noncontingent Reward Conditioning." (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in PA, Vol 57:4654.) Discusses the issue of formal analysis of operations in psychology. A total of 120 conditioning paradigms are derived from P. J. Woods's (see record 1975-00351-001) "Taxonomy of Instrumental Conditioning," of which 64 are predicted to produce behavior disorder and 32 are predicted to produce no behavior disorder. The remaining 24 are either redundant or "degenerate" paradigms. Eight paradigms producing behavior disorder are selected for review because they represent simple symmetrical formal relationships and have been more widely investigated. Among the phenomena covered are "superstitious" behavior, learned helplessness, experimental neurosis, anaclitic depression as a result of maternal separation, and physiological disturbances such as ulceration… (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ontogenetic constraints on neural and behavioral plasticity: Evidence from imprinting and face processing.

This paper addresses the extent and limits on brain plasticity during development through the detailed study of imprinting in the domestic chick and the development of face processing in human infants. In both of these systems evidence for constraints on plasticity is reviewed. The first source of constraint comes from the basic architecture of learning mechanisms that support plasticity. With regard to the chick, a specific "Hebbian" model based on the known neural circuitry of the region of the brain involved is presented and discussed. In human infants, a more abstract model inspired by cortical circuitry is mentioned. The second source of constraint comes from biases on the nature of the stimuli selected for attention by the young organism. Both in the chick and the human there is evidence for a subcortical brain system which orients their attention toward conspecifics, and particularly to their faces. It is argued that these systems tutor, or bias the input to, the more plastic learning systems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On gender specificity of person characteristics in personnel advertisements: a study among future applications

This research is an examination of how person characteristics mentioned in personnel advertisements influence the judgments of male and female students with regard to their subjective eligibility for, and the attractiveness of, a particular vacancy. The first study showed that many frequently mentioned person characteristics in personnel advertisements applied differently to men and women, but that female characteristics were more in demand than male characteristics. The second study examined to what degree male and female participants felt that they themselves possessed male and female characteristics; results showed that the men were more confident about the degree to which they possessed male and female characteristics than the women were. The third study examined how the type of person characteristics mentioned in personnel advertisements influenced men's and women's judgments regarding their eligibility for and the attractiveness of a particular position. The men found all positions about equally attractive, whereas the women found "male" positions considerably less attractive. Implications of the study are discussed.     

Salience of gender and sex composition of ad hoc groups: An experimental test of distinctiveness theory.

Examined whether the salience of an individual group member's gender would depend on the group's sex composition. According to W. J. McGuire's (1984) distinctiveness theory, even for "momentary" or ad hoc groups, gender would be more salient in the spontaneous self-concepts of members of the minority sex in mixed-sex groups than in other conditions. To test this prediction experimentally, 192 undergraduates (aged 17–55 yrs) were divided into 3-person groups in which the sex composition was manipulated. This resulted in 4 types: all male, all female, lone male, and lone female. Within these group contexts, Ss responded to 2 open-ended probes of spontaneous self-concept (i.e., "Tell me what you are" and "Tell me what you are not"), with order counterbalanced, and subsequently completed a structured measure of gender identity (Personal Attributes Questionnaire). Chi-square analyses of whether gender was mentioned on the "Tell me about yourself" probe supported the distinctiveness theory. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The success prognosis of plastic diaphragma operation on women with stress incontinence (author's transl)A1]

The paper refers to 126 patients on whom a plastic diaphragma operation was performed at the 1st Department of Obstet. and Gynec. of the University of Vienna. Based on the results one year after the operation, the success chances are shown and set into relation to several preexistent factors, such as severity of the incontinence, weight, parity, age and conduct of life. An increasing of the two first mentioned factors led to a significant deterioration of results. The influence of an incontinence remains incontested, yet a higher parity does not lead to significantly poorer operation results. As to the factor "age", there were no significant differences in our material. Conduct of life and additional stress in women employed in an occupation are being discussed. Furthermore it was possible to confirm the postoperative space of time needed until restoration of an undisturbed bladder function as a relatively reliable prognostic hint to the expected success of the operation. For this confirmation an objective examination method (sphincterotonometry) was used.     

Fate of neglected targets: A chronometric analysis of redundant target effects in the bisected brain.

The authors examined some of the sensorimotor effects of the split-brain operation to understand how a "dual mind" can produce unified behavior. They report psychophysical evidence of extinction to bilateral simultaneous stimulation in callosotomy patient J.W.: Although he could verbally report the occurrence of a unilateral left or right visual field target, left field report accuracy dropped by 34% when targets occurred bilaterally. Paradoxically, the same stimulus conditions produced abnormally robust redundant signal effects on simple manual and vocal reaction times, which exceeded predictions that were based on probability summation. Neural summation is often inferred from redundancy gain of this magnitude. Because this seems less likely after callosotomy, the authors suggest a model that is based on response competition between the disconnected hemispheres to account for J.W.'s redundant target effects. The dissociation between explicit report and motor performance is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thermionic emission properties of cermets of eutectic compositions in Me(IV)-(C,B)-(Mo,Re, W) systems

Conclusions Sintered eutectic (Ti, Zr, Hf)C-(Mo, Re, W) and ZrB₂-(Mo, Re, W) cathode cermets having a quasieutectic coarse-conglomerate structure are characterized by high stability of emission, and their effective work function is lower than that of their most emission-active components. The rapid stabilization of the emission characteristics of the eutectic cathode cermet composites is linked with the specific character of electron exchange between their phases, which creates optimum conditions for the formation of a self-stabilized structure on the surface of an emitter. The relative fall in work function exhibited by the cathode cermets investigated compared with their metallike compound components grows with increasing work function of their pure metallic components. Composite emitters of the eutectic compositions of the MeC (MeB₂)-Me' (where Me' = Mo, Re, W) systems are film-type emitters, on whose surfaces thin layers of the metal Me' form during heat treatment (sintering) and actual operation. The metal surface layers adsorb atoms from the metallike compounds MeC and MeB₂, which are supplied to the surfaces of the emitters by diffusion.Translated from Poroshkovaya Metallurgiya, No. 1(205), pp. 81–87, January, 1980.     

On the psycholinguistics of sarcasm.

Examined comprehension and memory for sarcastic statements in conversation in 6 experiments with 256 undergraduates. Data from 3 reading-time studies indicate that Ss did not need to first process the literal meanings of sarcastic expressions, such as "You're a fine friend" (meaning "You're a bad friend"), before deriving their nonliteral, sarcastic-interpretations. Ss also comprehended instances of sarcasm based on an explicit echoic mention of some belief, societal norm, or previously stated opinion faster than they did instances in which the echo was only implicit. Three additional experiments examining memory for sarcasm showed that sarcasm was remembered much better than literal uses of the same expressions of nonsarcastic equivalents. Ss recalled sarcasm that explicitly echoed a previously mentioned belief or societal norm more often than they remembered sarcasm that did not involve some explicit echo. Overall results demonstrate that ease of processing and memory for sarcastic utterances depends crucially on how explicitly a speaker's statement echoes either the addressee or some other source's putative beliefs, opinions, or previous statement. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbalization effects in discrimination learning of pictures and words.

Compared discrimination learning of pairs of pictures (line drawings) and their verbal labels as a function of various verbalization conditions in a study with 128 undergraduates. Ss either (a) verbalized each item of a pair once (condition C1) or twice (condition C2), (b) verbalized the right item 3 times and the wrong item once (condition R), or (c) verbalized the right item once and the wrong item 3 times (condition W). The R and W conditions affected discrimination learning of both pictures and words in a way predictable from frequency theory, but pictures were easier to discriminate than words in conditions C1, R, and W. It is suggested that the results reflect the joint operation of verbal frequency and visual encoding processes in picture discrimination. (French summary) (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A simplified micromethod for fluoride analysis

"VIDAS Stallertest" is a new screening test for breathing allergy. It allows the detection of 10 different lung specific allergens including domestic acarids (D1), pollents (G3, W6, W21, T3 and T9), pets dander (E1 and E2), moulds (M6), cockroach (16). The method is an immunoenzymatic reaction that contains a cartridge and a cone that is cover with the allergen's mixture and is automated on the VIDAS system. The results are compared to various skin tests analyzed by instantaneous reading for 102 patients. "VIDAS Stallertest" shows an excellent agreement (93%) with the allergic patients as well as with those that are not. The specificity of the new screening test is very high (91%). A comparative study between "VIDAS Stallertest" and "Phadiatop" performed on 155 consultants in allergist office shows a correlation of 93%, a sensitivity and a specificity of 91 and 95%, respectively. "VIDAS Stallertest" is a reliable method in first intention for the general practitioner who faces a putative breathing allergy. Moreover, this is an excellent biological check-up for a questionable or negative skin test.     

Special Review: Some Recent Texts in Educational Psychology.

Reviews seven books on educational psychology. The first book reviewed is "Educational Psychology," by Glenn M. Blair R. Stewart Jones, and Ray H. Simpson (see record 1954-07938-000). The second book reviewed is "Principles of Educational Psychology," by W.D. Commins, and Barry Fagin (see record 1955-01422-000). The third book reviewed is "Educational Psychology," by Lee J. Cronbach (see record 1954-07941-000). The fourth book reviewed is "Psychology for Modern Education," by James L. Mursell (see record 1953-02945-000). The fifth book reviewed is "Introduction to Educational Psychology," by Clellen L. Morgan, H.H. Remmers, and Einer R. Ryden (see record 1954-08965-000). The sixth book reviewed is "Psychology in Teaching," by Henry P. Smith (see record 1955-01434-000). The last book reviewed is third edition of "Psychology in Education," by Herbert Sorenson (see record 1954-08966-000). Either explicitly or by implication, the authors are saying that the conceptual schemes that now hold the center of the stage in the laboratories are not, in their present stage of development, useful to them as educational psychologists, and that as a result they have had to develop and use others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of perceived competence in professional psychology.

Appraised levels of general professional competence for 126 trainees in professional psychology by supervisors who had worked closely with the students. After rating the students, supervisors were asked to describe the dominant characteristics of "outstanding" and "incompetent" trainees. The most commonly mentioned quality of outstanding practitioner-trainees was high intelligence. The most commonly mentioned characteristic of incompetent trainees was lack of knowledge. A rating schedule composed of the 28 most commonly used terms was then employed by supervisors in rating students the following year. Four factors—Professional Responsibility, Interpersonal Warmth, Intelligence, and Experience—emerged from analysis of intercorrelations among variables. Intercorrelations of factor scores with ratings of overall competence showed that behaviorally oriented supervisors gave less weight to warmth in evaluating general competence than did supervisors with psychodynamic or eclectic viewpoints. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The occurrence of schistosomus reflexus in bovine dystocia

The occurrence of schistosomus reflexus as a cause of bovine dystocia in south western Victoria is described. Examination of records made by 21 veterinarians during a 20-year period (1966 to 1985) showed that of 6901 cases of bovine dystocia attended, 90 (1.3%) were caused by schistosomus reflexus. Most cases (56.7%) were treated by embryotomy, 25.6% by caesarean section and 3.3% by simple traction. Treatment of the remaining 14.4% of cases was not completed and was considered hopeless, mainly because of the emphysematous condition of the foetus and the toxic condition of the cow, which gave a poor prognosis. Some of these hopeless cases were sent to slaughter, but most were euthanased by the attending veterinarian. Sixty-nine (76.7%) of the patients were cows and 21 (23.3%) were heifers. Seventy-two (80%) were dairy breeds and 18 (20%) were beef breeds. Jersey was the main dairy breed (63.8%) and Hereford the dominant beef breed.     

高压消解-电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定低合金钢中硼、钛、锆、铌、锡、锑、钽、钨、铅

建立了以HNO3+HF作为溶剂,高压消解样品和电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定低合金钢中硼、钛、锆、铌、锡、锑、钽、钨、铅的方法。实验考察了不同消解酸、高压消解温度与时间对消解效果的影响。在优化仪器条件的基础上,研究了多原子离子干扰、仪器漂移情况和基体效应。结果表明,实验中通过选择合适的操作参数可以满足对仪器灵敏度、氧化物和双电荷等要求,在所选的参数下,除92Zr以外,其余待测元素受多原子离子干扰可忽略,最终选择同位素丰度高、无同质异位素干扰或干扰可忽略的质量数进行检测。选用合适内标,能有效控制信号漂移的影响,     

Magnetic investigation of microstress in hard alloys

Conclusions The variation of microstress in Co-(Ti, W)C solid solutions and two-phase titanium-tungsten hard alloys of various compositions is essentially similar in character to that in the corresponding systems Co-WC and WC-Co. The level of microstress in the cobalt and carbide phases of two- and three-phase titanium hard alloys changes sharply as a function of alloy composition (cobalt and titanium carbide contents). The microstresses in the Co phase (tensile) and in the WC phase (compressive) do not change sign, while the microstress (Ti, W)C in the titanium phase does change sign, when the cobalt or titanium carbide content of the alloys is varied.The character of microstress variation in titanium-tungsten hard alloys depends also to a large extent on their structure — the presence of continuous carbide skeletons in low-cobalt alloys and of (Ti, W)C grain conglomerates in alloys of comparatively high cobalt content. The composition of the cementing phase and the presence of additional phases (graphite, ₁ phase, pores) can also be expected to constitute contributory fators.In the case of three-phase titanium-tungsten alloys, the most widely used hard-alloy tool materials, there is a correlation between the microstress in their cobalt phase and their transverse rupture strength, which could be utilized for the formulation of new grades of alloys of this type.Translated from Poroshkovaya Metallurgiya, No. 10(166), pp. 64–71, October, 1976.