Prototypic typology and the Borderline Personality Disorder.

Based on interview data from 76 18–45 yr old outpatients, the implications of a prototypic rather than a classical model of personality-disorder classification were demonstrated for DSM-III Axis II Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Heterogeneity of membership is described, and conditional probabilities are used to demonstrate the relative efficiency of single diagnostic criteria and combinations of criteria and the degree of overlap among BPD and other personality disorders. The conditional probability approach can be used to determine empirically the covariation of symptoms and to link the study of prototypicality to the individual patient rather than to the group. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High-Speed Tools for Global Information Management.II. Specifications and Uses of the Transparent Query Language (TQL) Part IIF. Additional Uses of TQL, Data Structures, Concise Definitions, Conclusions and Acknowledgments

This part, PART IIF [6], concludes the document HIGH-SPEED TOOLS FOR GLOBAL INFORMATION MANAGEMENT. II. Specifications and Uses of the Transparent Query Language (TQL) [1–6]. It describes novel applications of TQL, the key data structures, and contains a dictionary of Transparent Query Language terms. PART IIF references PART IIA [1], PART IIB [2], PART IIC [3], PART IID [4], and PART IIE [5] and contains Conclusions and Acknowledgements.     

Towards the Remote Sensing of Matorral Vegetation Physiology: Relationships between Spectral Reflectance, Pigment, and Biophysical Characteristics of Semiarid Bushland Canopies

This study investigates the relationships between the spectral reflectance characteristics and the concentrations of photosynthetic pigments and biophysical attributes of a structurally complex, spatially heterogeneous vegetation canopy with varying background properties. A field experiment was performed in the Guadalentin basin, Spain using matorral vegetation canopies dominated by Rosmarinus officinalis, Cistus albidus, and Anthyllis cytosoides. A spectroradiometer was used to record the reflectance of a series of sites at which measurements were made of the concentrations per unit ground area and per unit leaf mass of chlorophyll a and b and the carotenoids, together with leaf area index and percent canopy cover. A range of spectral characteristics was examined which have been found previously to be related to pigment concentrations and biophysical properties of vegetation. For matorral vegetation many of these spectral characteristics were unrelated or only weakly related to canopy properties. However, it was found that pigment concentrations per unit ground area were related to ratios of reflectance in narrow spectral bands within the near-infrared region, ratios of bands within the red region, and characteristics of the amplitude of first derivative spectra in the red edge region. Pigment concentrations per unit leaf mass were correlated with ratios of bands around the nearinfrared “shoulder” and the amplitude of the first derivative in certain visible wavelengths. LAI and percent cover were related to ratios of reflectance in narrow bands on the near-infrared plateau and red edge features of canopy reflectance spectra, as well as with the amplitude of the first derivative in the red edge and visible regions respectively.     

Ergonomic evaluation of slide boards used by home care aides to assist client transfers

Home care aides risk musculoskeletal injury because they lift and move clients; the body weight of most adults exceeds the NIOSH recommended limit for lifting. Methods to reduce manual patient lifting in institutional settings are often technically or economically infeasible in home care. Our goal was to identify suitable, safe, low-technology transfer devices for home care use. Sixteen experienced home care aides performed client transfers from wheelchair to bed (upward) and bed to wheelchair (downward) in a simulated home care environment (laboratory), using four different slide boards and by hand without a device. Aides’ hand forces were measured during client transfers; aides also evaluated usability of each board. Hand forces exerted while using slide boards were mostly lower than in manual transfer, and forces were lower in downward versus upward transfers. Aides judged a board with a sliding mechanism easier to use than boards without a sliding mechanism.

Practitioner Summary: This paper provides quantitative biomechanical measurements showing that slide boards reduced the hand forces needed by home care aides to transfer clients from bed to wheel chair and vice versa, compared to manual lifting. Using a semi-quantitative usability survey, aides identified boards with a sliding mechanism easiest to use.     

The Impact of Serial Solutions’ Summon™ on Information Literacy Instruction: Librarian Perceptions

Web-scale discovery systems, such as Serial Solutions’ Summon? Service, are replacing older federated search technologies as the tool for users to access library resources quickly and easily. The impact of Web-scale discovery systems on instruction is not known. This study of instruction librarian perceptions of Summon's impact on instruction and student information literacy skills is based on a survey. The survey reveals librarians’ ambivalence toward Summon. While some librarians agree that Summon has the potential to change the way librarians teach information literacy skills, it has not been fully integrated into the classroom.     

The who and the what of usage of two cancer online communities

The explosion of use of Internet-based communication for health requires attention to the ways survivors of specific diseases and those close to them participate in using resources. This research focuses on two cancer groups – breast and prostate – and how they use WebMD asynchronous bulletin boards. Four hundred and eighty two messages were coded for communicator (survivors, spouses, others) and content of messages. Most common communicators were survivors, but the two groups differed in percentages of communicator. Of four main categories of content – medical/treatment, intimacy/sexuality, emotional expression, and support – most common were support and medical/treatment. The groups differed significantly on those four categories, with breast cancer more support-dominated and prostate more medical/treatment-dominated and more intimacy/sexuality messages. There were no group differences in emotional-toned vs. social support seeking vs. providing support, or positive vs. negative emotions expressed. Generally, there was considerable commonality, and the differences found primarily supported gender-specific notions of communication and need.     

Cognitive neuroscience: A field with increasing interest to school psychologists.

Reviews the book, Cognitive neuroscience: The biology of the mind by M. Gazzaniga, R. B. Ivry, and G. R. Mangun (1998). This excellent book on cognitive neuroscience provides an exposition of the key areas concerned in cognitive neuroscience for the advanced student in adult neuropsychology and/or biological psychiatry. The authors' aim to balance theory with neuropsychology utilizing neuroscientific evidence to support a theoretical basis is a major contribution of this text. In this book there has been a concerted effort to provide a theoretical basis for cognitive neuroscience in addition to a list of empirical evidence. Such an effort provides a backdrop for future research as well as linking various cognitive functions into an understandable whole. This volume provides an excellent overview of brain anatomy and function. The book is highly readable and provides excellent illustrations of complex material. The main weakness of this volume for school psychologists is the emphasis on adult disorders with no real discussion of the most common childhood disorders. Although the text assumes some familiarity with neuroanatomy, it is useful for practitioners who desire more up-to-date information in this exciting field. This volume would be an excellent textbook for courses in biological bases of behavior for doctoral-level school psychologists, provided there is accompanying information on child neuropsychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

As easy as pie

3-D or perspective pie charts are popular graphical displays, especially now that they are so easy to produce on computers, but they are problematical because they distort the very features that communicate the information about the data. This paper presents evidence to support the hypothesis that such distortions can lead to mis-information being obtained from such graphs. In particular the orientation of the segments is crucial to the interpretation of the data. This evidence comes from an experiment on a large number of subjects from varied backgrounds and ages who were asked to identify the largest and smallest segments in a 3-D pie chart. For some graphs the numbers of respondents who identified the segments incorrectly far exceeded those who identified them correctly. A control group who carried out the same task for 2-D pie charts were all able to correctly identify the largest and smallest segments in each graph.     

Decreasing GAD neonatally attenuates steroid-induced sexual differentiation of the rat brain.

During development, exposure to gonadal steroids results in brain sexual differentiation. Postnatally, hypothalamic gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels are almost double in males versus females. We hypothesized that increased GABA neonatally results in masculinization. Males, females, and androgenized females were infused intrahypothalamically with antisense oligonucleotides against glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) mRNA at birth to reduce GABA synthesis. GAD protein and GABA levels were reduced 24 hr later without obvious toxic effects, as determined by histological examination. As adults, neonatally antisense-treated, androgenized females showed reduced intromission-like behavior and lordosis quotients compared with vehicle and scrambled controls. Lordosis quotients were reduced about 50% in nonandrogenized females versus vehicle and scrambled controls. These data suggest that GABA is involved in mediating brain sex differentiation and may act in both males and females. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)