The relationship between the extent of reciprocity with social supporters and measures of depressive symptomatology, impairment, disability, and handicap in persons with spinal cord injury.

140 adults (aged 19–77 yrs) were randomly selected from a sampling frame of 661 persons with spinal cord injury. They completed a questionnaire assessing amount of social support, degree of reciprocity with supporters, and satisfaction with relationships with supporters; the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; a self-report version of the Functional Independence Measure; and the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique. A physician assessed the degree of paralytic impairment by means of the ASIA Total Motor Index Score. Relationships in which the supporter gave more than the participant were associated with more satisfaction with the relationship and more social support. The number of reciprocal relationships was positively associated with more desirable outcomes in the handicap dimensions of mobility, occupation, social integration, and economic self-sufficiency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Methotrexate therapy in rheumatoid arthritis: a life table review of 587 patients treated in community practice

To determine whether methotrexate (MTX) maintains its effectiveness in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the setting of community based private rheumatology practice we used life table analysis to review the combined experience of a group of these practices. Of 587 patients with RA who started to take MTX, total termination rate at 70 months was 24.4% with most terminations prompted by drug toxicity. Older age (greater than 65 years) was associated with higher rates of toxicity. Treatment termination rates varied substantially between rheumatologists. We conclude that MTX therapy for RA is well tolerated and maintains effectiveness for at least 70 months.     

Load-capacity interference and the bathtub curve

Load-capacity (stress-strength) interference theory is used to derive a heuristic failure rate for an item subjected to repetitive loading which is Poisson distributed in time. Numerical calculations are performed using Gaussian distributions in load and capacity. Infant mortality, constant failure rate (Poisson failures), and aging are shown to be associated with capacity variability, load variability, and capacity deterioration, respectively. Bathtub-shaped failure rate curves are obtained when all three failure types are present. Changes in load or capacity distribution parameters often strongly affect the quantitative behavior of the failure-rate curves, but they do not affect the qualitative behavior of the bathtub curve. Neither is it likely that the qualitative behavior will be affected by the use of nonGaussian distributions. The numerical results, however, indicate that infant mortality and wear-out failures interact strongly with load variability. Thus bathtub curves arising from this model cannot be represented as simple superpositions of independent contributions from the three failure types. Only if the three failure types arise from independent failure mechanisms or in different components is it legitimate simply to sum the failure rate contributions     

Solution of nonlinear kinematics of a parallel-link constrained Stewart platform manipulator

The Stewart platform manipulator is a fully parallel kinematic linkage system that has great advantages over typical serial link robots. However, one major problem in controlling this kind of manipulator is that, due to its closed kinematic chain and parallel-link constrained structure, it is impossible to derive an explicit kinematic solution. This paper proposes a simplified algorithm to numerically solve the forward kinematics of a six-links Stewart platform. Taking advantage of some fundamental geometric operations, the proposed algorithm involves only 3 nonlinear simultaneous equations. The explicit expressions are derived for some special configurations which can directly give the geometric limitations to motion in terms of the geometric dimensions of the platforms and the legs.Research was supported by Texas Advanced Technology program under grant 003656-008 and National Science Foundation under grant MSS9211970.     

Family burden following traumatic brain injury.

Investigated burden experienced by 60 spouses and 71 parents who served as primary caregivers to individuals with traumatic brain injury (BI). Burden levels, as assessed by the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress (QRS-SF), were compared for spouses and parents. Both parents and spouses exhibited high levels of burden. Relative to spouses, parents reported significantly greater burden related to lifespan care. Spouses reported significantly less personal reward than did parents. The presence of social aggression and cognitive disability in the individual with BI was found to have a greater association with subjective burden of caregivers than was the presence of physical disability or injury severity. Results of previous studies with QRS-SF scores show that the responsibility assumed by spouses and parents of persons with BI was as great as that experienced by families of people with severe chronic physical disabilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why psychologists don't think like philosophers.

H. H. Kendler (see record 1994-09190-001), in his article on psychology and the ethics of social policy, argues in part that ethical imperatives cannot be inferred from empirical data. This argument is cited in opposition to what is purported to be the position of the American Psychological Association on the abortion issue. It is suggested that PhD candidates in psychology be well versed in the philosophical issues and debates that are the foundation for the formation of ethical principles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Volatile constituents of palm wine and palm sap

Palm wine and pasteurised palm sap volatiles were collected, concentrated on a Tenax GC and analysed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Eighty-two components were identified: 47 esters, 9 alcohols, 5 acids, 6 carbonyls, 2 acetals, 4 terpenes and 9 hydrocarbons. These had all been found previously in conventional wines. Odour evaluation of the separated palm wine components as they eluted suggested that no one compound is responsible for the characteristic palm wine odour. The acetates of higher alcohols and the ethyl esters of straight-chain aliphatic C₆-C₁₀ acids seemed to be important and may play a big role in imparting the fruity nuances of characteristic palm wine odour. Their association with alcohols seemed also to be necessary for the expression of typical palm wine odour. The qualitative difference between palm sap aroma and palm wine aroma appeared to be due mainly to the presence of these esters and alcohols in palm wine and their apparent absence from palm sap, as well as to the presence of some low-boiling esters and alcohols in palm sap and their apparent absence from palm wine.     

Interoceptive Sensitivity and Self-Reports of Emotional Experience.

People differ in the extent to which they emphasize feelings of activation or deactivation in their verbal reports of experienced emotion, termed arousal focus (AF). Two multimethod studies indicate that AF is linked to heightened interoceptive sensitivity (as measured by performance on a heartbeat detection task). People who were more sensitive to their heartbeats emphasized feelings of activation and deactivation when reporting their experiences of emotion over time more than did those who were less sensitive. This relationship was not accounted for by several other variables, including simple language effects. Implications for the role of interoception in experienced emotion and the validity of self-reported emotion are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Miller compensation using current buffers in fully differential CMOS two-stage operational amplifiers

Several Miller compensation schemes using a current buffer in series with the compensation capacitor to modify the right-half-plane zero in fully differential two-stage CMOS operational amplifiers are analyzed. One scheme uses a current mirror as a current buffer, while the rest use a common-gate transistor as a current buffer. The gain transfer functions are derived for each topology, and approximate transfer-function coefficients are found that allow accurate estimation of the zero(s) and poles.     

The Self and Object Representations of Narcissistically Disturbed Children: An Empirical Investigation.

The aim of this study was to demonstrate a correlation between the clinical assessment of narcissistic personality disorder in children and underlying self and object relationships. D. Westen's Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale for the Thematic Apperception Test (1995; D. Westen, N. Lohr, K. Silk, K. Kerber, & S. Goodrich, 1985) was used to compare the object representations of two groups of referred latency-aged children, one for whom narcissistic issues were thought to be primary. Support for the clinical literature, which describes these children as lacking in empathy, struggling with self-esteem regulation, and in poor control of their impulses or aggression, was found. Additionally, a tendency to have a vulnerable sense of identity and to be preoccupied with seeking out and developing relationships with others was found to differentiate these children from peers with similar behavioral and diagnostic profiles. Results obtained have potential implications for the assessment and treatment of narcissistically disturbed children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)