Using the patient as teacher: A training method for family practice residents in behavioral science.

Since the inception of family medicine as a specialty in allopathy and osteopathy in 1969 and 1973, respectively, there has been a need to develop integrative approaches of teaching behavioral science concepts without violating the scope of practice limitations between the fields. We describe a collaborative training method by which we attempt to achieve this balance. Residents referring patients for mental health services are involved in all phases of the mutual patient's treatment. The intake, recommendation, and feedback sessions are videotaped with both health care providers present. In this method, the necessity of keeping within the limited time constraints of medical schedules is recognized, the application of behavioral science concepts over theory is emphasized, and the role of the behavioral scientist as an equal partner in the team approach to health care is strengthened. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Microstructure of as-polymerized thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers

Ten segmented polyether-urethane thermoplastics were studied in the as-polymerized state. Polyethersegment, number-average molecular weight and molecular weight distribution were varied among the set of polymers, as were the molar ratios of diisocyanate to diol chain extender to polyether glycol. Experimental techniques included differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, volume-temperature measurements, X-ray diffraction and hot-stage, polarized-light microscopy. At room temperature the materials possessed non-impinging spherulites, about 10 μm in diameter, in a non-birefringent matrix. X-ray diffraction from these same films showed no crystallinity, except in two cases. The spherulites irreversibly disappeared in the temperature range 350–400 K, accompanied by sharp decreases in dynamic modulus and a small thermal transition. Thermal disruption of urethane-dominated domains was observed at considerably higher temperatures, from 400–520 K, depending on molecular structure. Polyether crystallite melting was seen only below 305 K. These observations can be explained by a polymerization-solidification scenario which assumes: (1) de-mixing of isocyanatecapped prepolymers to form spatial gradients based on the urethane weight fraction of the prepolymer chains, and (2) decomposition of the polymerizing melt by nucleation and growth on a molecular scale to form polyurethane-rich spherulites during the reaction.     

The impact of mothers' gender-role stereotypic beliefs on mothers' and children's ability perceptions.

Examined the relation between mothers' gender stereotypic beliefs, their perceptions of their children's abilities, and their children's self-perceptions in 3 activity domains. Approximately 1,500 mothers and their 11- to 12-yr-old children responded to questions about the children's abilities in the math, sports, and social domains. It was predicted that mothers' beliefs about their children would be moderated by their gender stereotypic beliefs about the abilities of female and male people in general. As predicted, path analyses revealed that mothers' gender stereotypic beliefs interact with the sex of their child to influence their perceptions of the child's abilities. Mothers' perceptions, in turn, mediate the influence of past performance on children's self-perceptions in each domain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High efficiency 90 GHz InP Gunn oscillators

High efficiency InP Gunn devices and oscillators have been developed for the millimetre wave range. At approximately 90 GHz, the highest c.w. efficiency measured was 4.7% and the highest pulsed efficiency was 6.3%. Output powers of 126 mW c.w. and 236 mW pulsed have been achieved.     

Parental communication deviance and schizophrenia: A cross-cultural comparison of Mexican- and Anglo-Americans.

Levels of parental communication deviance (CD), as measured on the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), were compared among families of schizophrenic patients in two culturally distinct groups. Spanish-speaking Mexican-American parents of schizophrenics completed the TAT in their native language, and CD was coded from their stories by a Spanish-speaking rater. Mexican-American parents had levels of CD that were nearly identical to those of a carefully matched sample of English-speaking Anglo-American parents. Factor scores that measure distinct subtypes of CD also did not differ across groups. The data suggest that levels of CD, despite discriminating between parents of schizophrenics and nonschizophrenics, do not vary across different languages and cultures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optical noninvasive monitoring of skin blood pulsations

Time-resolved detection and analysis of skin backscattered optical signals (remission photoplethysmography or PPG) provide rich information on skin blood volume pulsations and can serve for reliable cardiovascular assessment. Single- and multiple-channel PPG concepts are discussed. Simultaneous data flow from several locations on the human body allows us to study heartbeat pulse-wave propagation in real time and to evaluate vascular resistance. Portable single-, dual-, and four-channel PPG monitoring devices with special software have been designed for real-time data acquisition and processing. The prototype devices have been clinically studied, and their potential for monitoring heart arrhythmias, drug-efficiency tests, steady-state cardiovascular assessment, body fitness control, and express diagnostics of the arterial occlusions has been confirmed.