Experience of pregnancy, delivery, motherhood and knowledge transfer in 3 generations of mothers

The purpose of the study was to describe how three generations of mothers have reacted to their pregnancies and deliveries and also how they feel about their maternity. Furthermore, the purpose was to illustrate the transfer of knowledge from one generation to another. Interviews have been made with three triads of generations, in all nine mothers. A phenomenological-hermeneutic onset has been chosen in order to analyse the narratives of the mothers. In the structural analyses the following themes came to hand: positive experiences/feelings, negative experiences/feelings, internal and external network and knowledge. The life-experiences of the maternity of the mothers were chiefly positive while experiences from pregnancy and childbirth were positive as well as negative. The knowledge of the mothers regarding childbirth and the bringing up of children were mostly conveyed in the everyday-contact during their early years, amongst mother-daughter-granddaughter. For the feeling of a successful experience during pregnancy, delivery and maternity, the internal network as well as the external turned out to be of great importance. In order to even better be able to provide for the needs of the expectant mothers or of those who have recently become mothers, an individual planning of care of both in- and out-patients within maternity- and childwelfare can be valuable.     

Phenoxenium ions: generations and reactions

The acid-catalyzed reaction of N-acyl- and N-sulfonylhydroxylamines with benzene proceeded smoothly to give C-C products; 2- and 4-hydroxybiphenyls. The reaction and the thermolysis of N-aryloxypyridinium salts involve common intermediates. The results of product analysis, the orientation of the reaction, effects of substituents on the nitrogen atom and on the phenyl ring suggested a mechanism involving a phenoxenium ion. The positive charge of the phenoxenium ion localized not on the oxygen atom but on the ortho and para carbons of the benzene ring. C-O product: diphenylethers are formed when the heterolysis of the N-O bonds is slow and the aromatic solvent has high nucleophilicity, suggesting an SN2-like reaction on the oxygen atom. The phenoxenium ions are also concerned with a rearrangement of O-arylhydroxylamine to 2-aminophenol. An ion-molecule pair involving phenoxenium ion and ammonia as an intermediate of the intramolecular ortho rearrangement.     

Familial recurrent facial paresis: four generations

BACKGROUND: Chronic idiopathic intestinal pseudoobstruction (CIIPO) is a rare syndrome with an obscure pathogenesis. The proto-oncogene c-kit encodes a transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor C-KIT that is critical for the development of the interstitial cells of Cajal, cells that are regarded as being the pacemaker cells of the gut. Thus, C-KIT immunopositive (C-KIT-) cells in the muscle layers of the bowel are considered to be intestinal pacemaker cells. METHODS: In this study, the distribution of intestinal pacemaker cells was examined for the first time using C-KIT immunohistochemistry in an infant with CIIPO. RESULTS: C-KIT+ cells were found lying on either side of the border between the two muscle layers (longitudinal and circular) of the bowel and dispersed unevenly throughout both muscle layers. Myenteric plexuses were not demarcated by C-KIT+ cells. In contrast, in controls, C-KIT+ cells were located distinctly between the two muscle layers of the small bowel and dispersed evenly throughout the muscle layers of the colon. Myenteric plexuses were clearly demarcated by C-KIT+ cells. CONCLUSIONS: This case demonstrates for the first time that there is abnormal distribution of intestinal pacemaker cells in CIIPO and provides new evidence that abnormal c-kit gene expression may be responsible for autonomic gut dysmotility. C-KIT immunohistochemistry may be an indispensable tool for diagnosing CIIPO.     

Smoking in nursing homes: conflicts and challenges

Nursing home social workers were surveyed to determine nursing home smoking policies and the effect these policies may have on resident and staff interaction. Data analyses suggest that in the past five years there has been a trend toward facilities becoming smoke-free. Facilities that permit smoking face greater conflicts between residents and staff. Social workers are expected to be resident advocates as well as mediators in such areas of conflict. This difficult position is further complicated by the social workers' personal views regarding smoking and "guest" standing in medical settings.     

The generations of psychotherapy research: An overview.

Psychoanalytic therapy research can be divided into 4 generations, marked by increasing conceptual sophistication and technological enhancement. The 1st generation (1917–1968) comprised simple retrospective counts of improved outcomes by unspecified criteria. The 2nd generation (1959–1985) consisted of 2 kinds: (1) prospective group-aggregated studies of psychoanalytic treatments, with specified definitions, operationalized criteria, and predictions to expected outcomes, and (2) individually studied outcomes in a sequence of patients. The 3rd generation (1954–1986) combined both kinds of 2nd-generation studies with the added feature of separating outcomes at termination from the more enduring effects at subsequent follow-up. The 4th, current generation (1970s–) adds in microanalytic process studies made possible by recent technological advances-audiotapes, combined with computer searches. Programs are currently being fashioned to combine these ongoing process studies with the best outcome measures in order to realize the principle of Patient-Treatment-Outcome Congruence, the representation of the patient's illness, the treatment process, and assessed outcome in comparable terms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Medical challenges of internal conflicts

The most prevalent menace since the end of the cold war is the occurrence of civil wars and local and regional conflicts. The term "low intensity conflict" describes the new threat environment and covers a multitude of phenomena, such as civil wars, guerrilla warfare, terrorism and counterinsurgency operations occurring between routine, peaceful inter- or intrastate competition, and a sustained conventional conflict. There is a great challenge to alert the physicians in general, and the surgical community of the world in particular, to the new threat environment and the medical challenges involved in treating casualties of low intensity conflicts. Specifically, a new international body of surgeons might be required to coordinate the recruitment, training, and creditation for surgeons with special expertise in the management of victims of such conflicts and to facilitate research and general knowledge of the medical challenges of modern conflicts.     

Toddler peer relations: Differentiation of games and conflicts.

Studied 4 toddler girls (aged 22–25 mo) over 3 mo as they interacted in dyads with one another. Each S played with 2 other Ss, so there were 4 dyads in all. 18 40-min sessions for each pair were observed in the Ss' homes, and relations were characterized in terms of the frequency and nature of games and conflicts berween the pairs. The peer experience and the Ss' contributions to joint interaction depended on the particular partner with whom they were interacting. Moreover, the characteristics that differentiated these experiences also differed from one relationship to another. Finally, some characteristics of the interaction were the result of the dynamic product of the interaction of 2 individuals rather than a mere addition of the contribution of the members of the pair. (French abstract) (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Resolving interpersonal conflicts: An analysis of stylistic consistency.

In three experiments, we examined people's consistency in their styles of resolving interpersonal conflicts. In Experiment 1, 40 Yale undergraduates described recent significant interpersonal conflicts with a same-sex peer, an opposite-sex peer, and a parent, and their methods of resolving these conflicts. They then rated the extent to which each of seven styles of conflict resolution characterized their actual and ideal styles of conflict resolution. In Experiment 2, 40 Yale summer school subjects again described and rated their own methods for resolving recent significant interpersonal conflicts with a parent, a teacher, a roommate, and a romantic partner. They also rated styles of conflict resolution for hypothetical conflicts involving these same significant others. In Experiment 3, 40 Yale undergraduates rated actual and ideal styles of conflict resolution as they pertained to both sides of two real conflicts: one regarding a contract dispute between Yale University and Local 34, the union for clerical and technical workers, and the other between the United States and the Soviet Union over arms negotiations. Strong consistencies in styles of conflict resolution were observed within individuals across various interpersonal conflicts, and at the same time widespread differences were observed across individuals in preferred styles of conflict resolution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two generations of spore research: from father to son

Induction of cytochrome P-4501A protein and induction of related enzyme activity are hallmark physiological responses following exposure to planar halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (HAHs) such as 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB 126; PeCB). Environments contaminated by HAHs are often contaminated by mixtures of anthropogenic contaminants, including organometallic compounds. Both HAHs and organometallics easily bioconcentrate and bioaccumulate in aquatic food chains that may ultimately be linked to humans through seafood consumption. Tributyltin (TBT), a marine biocide, has been detected in many aquatic environments due to its primary use as a marine antifoulant agent. Exposure to TBT, as well as several PCBs, has been associated with immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, and endocrine disruption. Recently TBT has been shown to inhibit cytochrome P-4501A activity in vitro, but information concerning these effects in vivo and in combination with classical inducers of P-4501A, such PeCB, is lacking. We exposed female B6C3F1 mice to 0.01, 0.1, and 1.0 mg/kg PeCB, TBT, or both in combination, with corn oil (CO) serving as a carrier control. Cytochrome P-4501A protein levels and related benzo[a]pyrene hydroxylation (BaP-OHase) activity were measured following a single acute intraperitoneal (ip) dose or seven daily injections. Body, thymus, and liver weights were used to monitor general physiological responses following exposure. P-4501A levels and BaP-OHase activity were significantly elevated in mice exposed to PeCB alone. This effect was enhanced by coexposure to low levels of TBT; PeCB-induced P-4501A-related activity was potentiated at the low range of each. The highest dose of TBT, however, inhibited these activities when given in combination with PeCB. Thymic atrophy was evident only in mice exposed daily to 0:1 and 1.0 mg/kg PeCB alone, or to a combination of the lowest and highest dose of PeCB and TBT, respectively. Because environmental levels of TBT are not expected to be as high as the highest level used in our toxicological studies, we conclude that environmental exposure to TBT may potentiate, rather than inhibit, the activity of environmental levels of HAHs that are associated with P-4501A induction.     

Dependency conflicts in high-achieving women: Toward an integration.

Explores the dependency conflicts experienced by women who are in professional training in medicine and other biological sciences. As they become involved in psychotherapy, these high-achieving women find themselves caught in a struggle between their wish to be self-sufficient and to be help givers and their wish to have their needs for affection and nurturance met. Despite their excellent academic performance, they feel inadequate, lonely, and unable to succeed in establishing intimate relationships. Psychotherapy focuses on resolving the dependency conflicts through (1) increased awareness and acceptance of dependency needs, (2) gradual relinquishment of those wishes that are unattainable, and (3) development of an identity in which closeness, support, and emotional expression are better integrated with the needs for striving and self-sufficiency that have dominated the woman's life since childhood. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role conflicts in coercive assessments: Evaluation and recommendations.

The role requirements of psychologists working in the coercive situation of the criminal justice system are compared and contrasted with those of the voluntary, or "free-world," setting. In particular, the place and function of psychological assessments are considered in both settings, as are the kinds of professional relationships that are permitted by the two types of employment contexts. I maintain that because psychologists potentially suffer from more role conflict and ambiguity in the coercive environment than in the free-world assessment situation, they are prone to display their unconscious biases and distortions more readily. Three kinds of these distortions are described and illustrated. A model to partly correct for these distortions is recommended; it follows the adversarial approach of the criminal justice system itself. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When speech conflicts with seeing: young children's understanding of informational priority

In a series of investigations we found that children between 3 and 5 years of age judged that an utterance (such as, "There's milk in the jug") would be ignored by a listener who had previously seen something contradictory (orange juice in the jug). However, children judged that the listener would believe the message "There's milk in the jug" when he had not previously seen inside. In these various conditions, child participants had not seen for themselves what was inside the jug, so it was impossible for their own directly perceived knowledge to contaminate their judgments of what the protagonist believed. Under these conditions, even many false-belief failers did not assume that the listener would believe whatever they themselves thought was true. Moreover, the results of control conditions suggested that children's success could not be attributed to low-level strategies. These results seem to indicate an early understanding of how people prioritize information, with the consequence that they acknowledge that one and the same message would be believed in one context but not in another.     

The case of Mr. Martinez: ethical conflicts in home care

In the present study, a primary culture of auditory neurons in 10-16-day old chickens was carried out. We observed the morphologic features of auditory neurons at different culturing stages by using phased-contrast and scanning electron microscope, and particularly described their growth and developmental process. The results indicated that a steady and reliable culturing method established here would contribute to the biological research of inner ear in vitro.     

Corporate funding and conflicts of interest: A primer for psychologists.

A presidential task force on external funding was established by the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2003 to review APA policies, procedures, and practices regarding the acceptance of funding and support from private corporations for educational and training programs; continuing education offerings; research projects; publications; advertising; scientific and professional meetings and conferences; and consulting, practice, and advocacy relationships. This article, based on the Executive Summary of the APA Task Force on External Funding Final Report, presents the findings and unanimous recommendations of the task force in the areas of association income, annual convention, research and journals, continuing education, education, practice, and conflicts of interest and ethics. The task force concluded that it is important for both APA and individual psychologists to become familiar with the challenges that corporate funding can pose to their integrity. The nature and extent of those challenges led the task force to recommend that APA develop explicit policies, educational materials, and continuing education programs to preserve the independence of psychological science, practice, and education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Resolution of approach-approach and avoidance-avoidance conflicts.

Forty male and 40 female college students served as subjects; conflicts were created by using two kinds of items—one set of items (pairings) in which he was required to designate the alternative he would rather have in greater degree than he had at present (approach-approach conflict) and another set of items in which he was required to designate the alternative he would rather have in lesser degree than he had at present (avoidance-avoidance conflict). "Approach-approach conflicts required significantly less time to resolve than did avoidance-avoidance conflicts and significantly more approach-approach conflicts were judged easier to resolve than were avoidance-avoidance conflicts. Males and females did not appear to differ in the conflict behavior except that in judging the difficulty of conflicts, males proved to be significantly more variable than females." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological dynamics of intractable ethnonational conflicts: The Israeli–Palestinian case.

In this article, the authors use the Israeli–Palestinian conflict as an example of ostensibly intractable ethnonational conflict and examine the psychological dynamics that contribute to its intractability. They review the unique characteristics of this conflict and the clash of narratives. They argue that some ethnonational conflicts have characteristics that increase their resistance to change and that societies in such conflicts form societal beliefs that, on the one hand, help them cope with the stressful conditions of the conflicts but, on the other hand, perpetuate the conflicts. Finally, they discuss some social psychological contributions to changing societal beliefs as a way of intervening in such conflicts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Me against myself: Motivational conflicts and emotional development in adulthood.

Two studies investigated adult age differences in the frequency and emotional consequences of motivational conflicts (i.e., feeling that one wants to or should do something else in a given situation). Study 1 compared younger and older adults. Study 2 included a more age-heterogeneous sample ranging from 20 to 70 years. Data were obtained using diary and experience-sampling methods. Multilevel regression showed that motivational conflict was associated with lower emotional well-being. With age, the frequency of motivational conflict decreased, while emotional well-being increased. Importantly, the age-related decrease in motivational conflicts partly accounted for the age-related increase in emotional well-being. Findings were consistent across studies and robust after the authors controlled for age differences in a number of control variables including time use. The authors conclude that an age-related decrease in motivational conflicts in daily life may be among the factors underlying the positive development of emotional well-being into older adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)