Review of Essential papers on borderline disorders: One hundred years at the border.

Reviews the book, Essential papers on borderline disorders: One hundred years at the border by Michael H. Stone (1986). Despite the best intentions of this volume, the effort to integrate and unify 100 years of discussion and debate on the diffuse diagnosis of borderlines is truly Olympian in its scope. Stone is an American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who has written extensively on the borderline patient, including The Borderline Syndromes (1980). In his writings over the past 15 years, including a 1977 selection in the present volume, Stone has advocated the bio-genetic hypothesis in the etiology of borderline disorders. Much of Stone's research has investigated hereditary links between borderline personality and affective disturbances, particularly bipolar disorder. Given this, it should not be too surprising that many of the readings he has selected, particularly those from the past 10 years, emphasize hereditary aspects of the borderline syndrome. Although anthologies often help us stand back and regain objectivity, they should also integrate and unify if they are to provide a springboard for further inquiry. Perhaps because of the multitude of approaches to the study of borderline phenomena, an overview which sought to be less comprehensive but more reliably defined might have given the reader a better sense of the gestalt of the field's history. Using Stone's own concluding remarks as an operational criterion, I also found myself asking whether this volume truly organizes or merely adds to the aforementioned clutter. The answer, I feel, is "on the border." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Principles of local sound velocity and attenuation measurementsusing transmission acoustic microscope

Fundamentals of transmission acoustic microscopy as applied to measurements of sound velocities and attenuation in thin specimens and films are discussed. The method is based on measuring the output signal A as a function of a distance z between the radiating and the receiving lenses in the two-lens focusing system of the transmission microscope. It is proposed to measure the A(z) dependence twice: initially without a specimen, and then in the presence of it. When a specimen is absent, maximum of the A(z)-curve arises in the confocal position of the lenses. In the presence of an object, the main peak of the curve is shifted, and its magnitude diminishes. Measuring the changes makes it possible to determine local values of sound velocities and attenuation. For data interpretation a theory of formation of the output signal in the two-lens focusing system was developed. The relationship between the peak shift and the ratio of sound velocities in a specimen and a couplant contains a correction depending on beam angle aperture     

Effect of small flows in the end gaps on the measurement error of tachometric chamber flowmeters of the roller-vane type

A method is developed for determining the magnitude of small flows in the end gaps of tachometric chamber flowmeters of the roller-vane type. The effect of these flows on the error of the readings of the flowmeter is also estimated. Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 7, pp. 29–33, July, 1997.     

Transition to adulthood as a parent-youth project: Governance transfer, career promotion, and relational processes.

This study determined how youth (ages 17-21) and their parents jointly constructed and acted on goals and strategies pertinent to the transition to adulthood. Twenty parent-youth dyads were followed over an 8-month period using the qualitative action-project method. Data included their joint conversations, video recall of internal processes, self-monitoring logs, and researcher telephone monitoring. Detailed and repeated analysis of elements, functional steps, and goals resulted in the identification of an explicit joint project for each dyad that the participants saw as pertinent to the transition to adulthood. These projects referred broadly to the youth development of identity and social inclusion in the adult world and included the specific projects of career promotion, governance transfer, and parent-youth relational processes. The findings illustrate the complexity of the transition-to-adulthood process as well as its joint construction by parent and youth. Implications for practice include identifying and following the joint parent-youth transition project. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Digital ischemia and gangrene due to red blood cell aggregation induced by acquired dysfibrinogenemia

Digital gangrene was observed in a patient who had angiographic findings of digital arterial occlusion. The patient's blood showed a marked red blood cell aggregation with rouleaux formation in long chains, which could not be dispersed at shear rates up to 200 sec-1. Studies of the patient's blood revealed the presence of an abnormal fibrinogen capable of aggregating normal red blood cells. This fibrinogen was found by Raman spectroscopy to have an increased alpha-helical content, whereas the beta-sheet content was decreased. Defibrinogenation therapy with ancrod resulted in a dramatic symptomatic relief. The disappearance of the abnormal fibrinogen 6 months later and an absence of a family history indicate that this dysfibrinogenemia was acquired.     

A task-based approach to assessing lead exposure among iron workers engaged in bridge rehabilitation

The assessment of worker exposures to airborne contaminants in the dynamic environment present at most construction sites poses considerable challenges to the industrial hygienist. In this study, we applied a task-based approach to the assessment of lead exposure among structural steel iron workers engaged in a large, complex bridge rehabilitation project. We evaluated the usefulness of task-based exposure data for the development of worker protection programs. Task-specific and multitask samples were collected, and operation-specific and 8-hr time-weighted averages were calculated. The task-specific data showed significant differences in exposure levels among different tasks. Arithmetic mean exposures varied from 1,357 micrograms/m3 lead for torch cutting and 989 micrograms/m3 for scaling to 31 micrograms/m3 for reaming and 4 micrograms/m3 for drilling. Our task-specific data were compared with the task-based exposure levels presented by OSHA in its Lead Exposure in Construction-Interim Final Rule (29 CFR 1926). There was good general agreement between our results and OSHA's reported data. Task-based data were very useful in exposure assessment and much more precise than full-shift and operation-based measurements in guiding strategies for worker protection. These findings suggest that task-based data should routinely be collected in evaluating exposure to lead and perhaps other toxic substances in construction work.