Responsiveness of Health-Related Quality of Life Outcome Measures in Cardiac Rehabilitation: Comparison of Cardiac Rehabilitation Outcome Measures.

Assessment instruments that are not responsive to change are unsuitable as outcome tools in cardiac rehabilitation because they underestimate the psychosocial benefits of program attendance. Nine questionnaires were assessed for responsiveness with the standardized response mean (SRM). Questionnaires were allocated into 3 batteries, and each battery was completed by cardiac rehabilitation and comparison participants at 2 time points (411 and 375 participants in total, respectively). There was a high degree of variability in the responsiveness of instrument subscales. The positive affect subscale of the Global Mood Scale (J. Denollet, 1993a) was the most responsive (SRM = 0.62). Further information on the comparative responsiveness of psychosocial scales is important to optimize instrument selection for outcome studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Competence, reticence, and helping by children and adolescents.

Examined the relation between age and helping in an experimental study in which 256 1st-, 4th-, 7th-, and 10th-grade children and adolescents directly observed an emergency and had the opportunity to intervene. A 2nd study was then conducted, using 256 1st-, 4th-, 7th-, and 10th-grade children and adolescents as Ss, in which an emergency was clearly staged, in order to elicit comments about factors that may inhibit helping. Results of Study 1 were consistent with earlier findings of a curvilinear relationship between age and helping among children and early adolescents, with 4th and 10th graders helping the victim of an injury significantly more than 1st and 7th graders. Significantly more help was given to a toddler than to an age peer and to a person whose injury appeared serious enough so that he or she could not get up unaided. Results obtained from Study 2 suggest that helping by younger Ss was inhibited by fear of possible inadequacy, and helping by adolescents was inhibited by fear of disapproval and/or sensitivity to the possible embarrassment felt by potential recipients. Reticence was expressed least where the potential recipient was a toddler. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Person memory and causal attributions.

Three experiments with 273 college students were conducted to reconcile the apparent contradiction between the well-established finding that initial impressions are resistant to incongruent (ICG) information and the finding that information ICG with an impression is particularly likely to be recalled. Using a procedure similar to that of R. Hastie and P. A. Kumar (1979), a situational or dispositional attribution was provided for a target item, which was either congruent (CG) or ICG with an initial impression. The ICG item was more likely than the CG item to be recalled only when attributed to dispositional causes (Exp I). The congruence of the target had greater impact on impressions when attributed to dispositional causes, particularly when Ss were given little other information about the target (Exps I and II). Exp III revealed that Ss preferred situational attributions for ICG items and dispositional attributions for CG. The authors conclude that Hastie and Kumar's findings may be limited to conditions in which situational attributions for TCG information are not provided. Possible mediators of the effects of causal attributions on recall, and the relation between recall and impressions are discussed. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selection of proper mounting media for examining heterogeneous copolymers with the phase microscope

A technique for examining heterogeneous copolymers with the phase microscope is described. This method is based on the use of a mounting medium that displays selective solubility toward the constituent materials, thereby masking one or more phases in order to provide suitable phase contrast and isolation of the constituent to be examined.     

The effects of anti-rheumatoid drugs on the in vitro activity of human serum hyaluronidase

Fourteen antirheumatoid drugs were tested for their effects on the in vitro hyaluronidase activity of normal human serum. Four drugs produced significant changes in enzyme activity. Different results were obtained with ovine testicular hyaluronidase when diluted with either saline or inactivated human serum. No increase in serum hyaluronidase activity was found in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. There was no evidence for the existence of tissue specific isoenzymes of hyaluronidase in the serum of either normal subjects or patients with rheumatoid arthritis.