Condom Use Among High-Risk Adolescents: Testing the Influence of Alcohol Use on the Relationship of Cognitive Correlates of Behavior.

The goal of this study was the exploration of distal effects of alcohol use on condom use. Criminally involved adolescents completed an initial measure of attitudes, beliefs, and prior behavior. Of the 300 who completed the initial measurement, 267 (89%) completed a behavioral assessment 6 months later. Analyses validated a theoretical model of condom use intentions and indicated that intentions and attitudes measured at baseline were significant predictors of condom use behavior 6 months later. Neither alcohol use nor alcohol problems moderated relationships among model variables or the influence of intentions and attitudes on behavior. The findings do not support a distal role for alcohol use in altering the cognitive correlates of condom use intentions and behavior among high-risk adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between ApoE, MRI findings, and cognitive function in the Cardiovascular Health Study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We determined the relationship between apolipoprotein (Apo)E, MRI, and low cognitive scores. METHODS: The relationship between age, education, ApoE genotype, MRI examination of the brain, subclinical and clinical cardiovascular disease, and low (<80) score on the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE, as modified by Teng and Chui) was evaluated for 3469 black and white participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) in years 5 and 6 of the study. The participants were followed for up to 3 years. RESULTS: The prevalence of scores <80 in years 5 and 6 of the CHS was 8.2% for participants without and 20.4% for those with prior history of stroke. Age, race, and education were important determinants of low 3MSE scores. The prevalence of ApoE-4 (odds ratio [OR], 1.6 [1.1 to 2.1]) was directly related to scores <80, as was high ventricular volume (OR, 1.6 [1.2 to 2.3]), high white matter grade (OR, 1.4 [1.1 to 1.9]), and infarctlike lesions (OR, 1.6 [1.2 to 2.1]) on the MRI in the multivariate analysis. A five-point or greater decline in scores over up to 3 years was more often observed for participants with low 3MSE scores at year 5, at older ages, with lower education, and experiencing incident stroke (OR, 3.6 [1.2 to 10.6]), ApoE-4 genotype (OR, 1.8 [1.4 to 2.3]), and with MRI findings of high ventricular volume (OR, 2.0 [1.5 to 2.7]), and infarctlike lesions (OR, 1.2 [0.9 to 1.5]). CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that vascular changes on MRI, measures of brain atrophy, ApoE-4, and age, education, and race are associated with low cognitive scores among older individuals. The MRI of the brain provides valuable information related to cognitive tests and decline over time. The potential exists for using MRI measurements to identify high-risk individuals for dementia and to test potential interventions to reduce the risk of dementia.     

Collective versus individual induction with single versus multiple hypotheses.

Four-person cooperative groups and 4 independent individuals solved rule induction problems by proposing 1, 2, or 4 hypotheses per trial while selecting the same amount of evidence per trial. Groups performed at the level of the best individuals and better than the 2nd-best, 3rd-best, and 4th-best individuals for both correct hypotheses and nonplausible hypotheses. Increasing the number of proposed hypotheses from 1 to 2 to 4 did not increase correct hypotheses but increased nonplausible hypotheses. Transition probabilities from hypotheses on trial t to t?+?1 indicated superior performance for the groups and best individuals for each of positive and negative hypothesis tests followed by examples and nonexamples; once the groups and best individuals proposed the correct hypothesis, they were more likely to continue to propose it than the other individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of balloon-expandable metallic stents in the management of bronchial stenosis and bronchomalacia after lung transplantation

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Bronchial stenosis (BS) and bronchomalacia (BM) are often associated with lung allograft rejection or infection in lung transplant (LT) recipients. We reviewed our experience using balloon-expandable metallic (Palmaz) stents in the management of BS and BM in LT. DESIGN: Retrospective review of cases. PATIENTS: LT recipients with bronchoscopic and spirometric evidence of BS and BM. INTERVENTIONS: Serial balloon dilation was performed for BS. Stent placement was done for refractory or recurrent BS, or persistent focal BM. RESULTS: Twelve of 129 LT bronchial anastomoses at risk (9.3%) had complications, which included 11 BS and 5 BM. Four BS were accompanied by BM either concurrently or subsequently. The only isolated BM was associated with acute rejection and resolved after appropriate medical therapy. Balloon dilations alone were successful in relieving BS in three cases. Seven patients received a total of 11 stents. Stents were placed under conscious sedation using a flexible bronchoscope. Five of the seven patients had spirometric improvements after stent placements. One patient had no spirometric improvement, and another died before a follow-up study was done. There were no complications during stent placements. However, complications after stent placements included partial dehiscence of the stent from the bronchial wall, stent migration, partial obstruction of a segmental bronchial orifice by a stent in the main bronchus, and longitudinal stent collapse. One stent was successfully removed using a flexible bronchoscope in the endoscopy suite, and two others were removed by rigid bronchoscopy in the operating room. CONCLUSIONS: Endobronchial placement of the Palmaz stent in LT recipients is relatively easy, and it can be removed if needed. However, because there are significant potential complications, the future use of this stent as an airway prosthesis in LT remains unclear.     

电源转换应用中数字反馈回路的益处

市场因素正在推动智能电源的发展,包括电源的外部控制和生产中的软件配置。实现上述目标的方法之一就是在电源转换回路中采用数字反馈控制。电源设计人员已经在智能电源中采用了单片机（MCU）来实现通信、监视、控制和诸如上电时序、软启动和拓扑控制等确定性功能。但是,就在不久前,由于没有合适的兼具成本效率的技术,对电源转换回路进行完全的数字控制仍不可能。     

A Mechanical Microelectrode Pulsing Device to Facilitate the Penetration of Small Cells

An electromagnetic electrode driving device which produces a relatively pure axial motion has been developed. The motion takes place in a few milliseconds, and its amplitude can be adjusted over a range of about ?-30 ?m. The device has been used to penetrate cells with a diameter of about 5 ?m.     

A Remote Control Brain Telestimulator with Solar Cell Power Supply

A brain telestimulator system is described which can be used with primates weighing 3.0 kg or more. The 3×6×7 cm, 200 gm head-mounted receiver employs solar cells to maintain the charge on its battery, thereby permitting experiments to continue undisturbed for many months. The head unit develops across its output a cathodal, monophasic pulse whose duration, rate, and constant current are remotely controlled from the transmitter. Subject to a duty cycle of 0.1, these parameters are continuously and remotely variable: pulse repetition rate, 0-200 pulses per second; pulse duration, 0.1-3.0 ms; pulse current intensity, 0-1.0 mA with less than ± 3 percent variance for loads between 2500-10 000 ohms. Output pulse rise time is 30 , ?s. Any one of 12 electrode channels can be selected for stimulation by remote control activation of an electro-mechanical stepping switch in the head unit. Utilization of crystal control in the frequency modulated transmitter and head units permits multi-animal operation by providing separate bands in the 138 MHz region for independent stimulation of up to four animals. The sensitivity of the receiver has purposely been designed low (-35 dBm). Thus, with the present transmitter the system has a range of about 0.2 mile, which extends beyond the normal visual limits of observation of primate groups.     

Heat transfer coefficients for forced-air cooling and freezing of selected foods

To maximize the efficiency of cooling and freezing operations for foods, it is necessary to optimally design the refrigeration equipment to fit the specific requirements of the particular cooling or freezing application. The design of food refrigeration equipment requires estimation of the cooling and freezing times of foods, as well as the corresponding refrigeration loads. The accuracy of these estimates, in turn, depends upon accurate estimates of the surface heat transfer coefficient for the cooling or freezing operation. This project reviewed heat transfer data for the cooling and/or freezing of foods. A total of 777 cooling curves for 295 food items were obtained from an industrial survey and a unique iterative algorithm, utilizing the concept of ‘equivalent heat transfer dimensionality’, was developed to obtain heat transfer coefficients from these cooling curves. Nine Nusselt–Reynolds–Prandtl correlations were developed from a selection of the 777 heat transfer coefficients resulting from this algorithm, as well as 144 heat transfer coefficients for 13 food items, collected from the literature. The data and correlations resulting from this project will be used by designers of cooling and freezing systems for foods. This information will make possible a more accurate determination of cooling and freezing times and corresponding refrigeration loads. Such information is important in the design and operation of cooling and freezing facilities and will be of immediate usefulness to engineers involved in the design and operation of such systems.     

Image registration based on boundary mapping

A new two-stage approach for nonlinear brain image registration is proposed. In the first stage, an active contour algorithm is used to establish a homothetic one-to-one map between a set of region boundaries in two images to be registered. This mapping is used in the second step: a two-dimensional transformation which is based on an elastic body deformation. This method is tested by registering magnetic resonance images to atlas images.