Risk perceptions: Assessment and relationship to influenza vaccination.

Objective: Accurate measurement of beliefs about risk probability is essential to determine what role these beliefs have in health behavior. This study investigated the ability of several types of risk perception measures and of other constructs from health behavior theories to predict influenza vaccination. Design: Prospective study in which students, faculty, and staff at 3 universities (N = 428) were interviewed in the fall, before influenza vaccine was available, and again early in the next calendar year. Main Outcome Measure: Self-reported influenza vaccination. Results: Two interview questions that asked about feeling at risk and feeling vulnerable predicted subsequent behavior better (r = .44, p = .001) than 2 questions that asked for agreement or disagreement with statements about risk probability (r = .25, p = .001) or 4 questions that asked respondents to estimate the magnitude of the risk probability (r = .30, p = .001). Of the 4 perceived risk magnitude scales, a 7-point verbal scale was the best predictor of behavior. Anticipated regret was the strongest predictor of vaccination (r = .45, p = .001) of all constructs studied, including risk perceptions, worry, and perceived vaccine effectiveness. Conclusion: Risk perceptions predicted subsequent vaccination. However, perceived risk phrased in terms of feelings rather than as a purely cognitive probability judgment predicted better. Because neither feeling at risk nor anticipated regret is represented in the most commonly used theories of health behavior, the data suggest that these theories are missing important constructs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Isolation of cell cycle-dependent gamma ray-sensitive Chinese hamster ovary cell

A technique for the isolation of gamma ray-sensitive Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell mutants is described, which uses nylon cloth replica plating and photography with dark-field illumination to directly monitor colonies for growth after gamma irradiation. Two gamma ray-sensitive mutants were isolated using this method. One of these cells (XR-1) had a two-slope survival curve: an initial steep slope and then a flattening of the curve at about 10% survival. Subsequently, it was found that this cell is sensitive to gamma irradiation in G1, early S, and late G2 phases of the cell cycle, whereas in the resistant phase (late S phase) its survival approaches that of the parental cells. The D37 in the sensitive G1 period is approximately 30 rads, compared with 300 rads of the parental cell. This mutant cell is also sensitive to killing by the DNA breaking agent, bleomycin, but is relatively insensitive to UV light and ethyl methane sulfonate, suggesting that the defect is specific for agents that produce DNA strand breakage.     

Goal attainment scaling: Planning and outcome.

T. J. Kiresuk and R. E. Sherman's (1968) goal attainment scaling (GAS) and a non-scaled goal-setting (NGAS) approach were compared in terms of their impact on case planning and treatment outcome. Exp I tested the hypothesis that 9 GAS clinicians would formulate more specific indicators of treatment goal progress and set goals more relevant to identified case needs than would 9 NGAS clinicians, while both groups would be equally adept at identifying case needs. Exp II hypothesized that GAS cases would receive higher scores than NGAS cases on standardized measures of treatment outcome, and that GAS scores would correlate significantly with global measures of improvement. Exp I provided support for the contribution of GAS to greater indicator specificity, but not goal relevance. Exp II indicated that GAS cases were perceived by teachers as showing more change than NGAS cases. Improvement on GAS goals was not related to improvement on global measures of treatment outcome. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Piezodialysis: a comparison of theoretical treatments

In recent years our two laboratories have developed and used differing theoretical analyses of piezodialysis. That of Leitz is expressed in terms of water and salt flows (WS); that of Weinstein , in terms of volume, salt and electric current (VSI). The VSI is a more general treatment than WS, but the two are here shown to yield identical predictions in the very important limiting case of negligible coion fluxes. The difference between coupling factors β and β represents the uncoupling effect of external solution path resistances.     

The effect of high pressure insertion and antibiotic inclusions upon the mechanical properties of polymethylmethacrylate

The properties of self-curing polymethylmethacrylate as affected by the admixing of an antibiotic to the powder-liquid mixture and as affected by insertion technique demonstrated that the antibiotic agent may leach from the surface of the acrylic, but not necessarily from the interior. The compressive and tensile strength, determined on two different commercial formulations, suggests that the antibiotic additive is not detrimental to the mechanical properties. A high pressure insertion technique produces a significant improvement in the mechanical properties of the self-curing acrylic material.     

Early postglomerular plasma concentrations of chloride, sodium, and inulin in the rat kidney

Sodium, chloride, and inulin concentrations were measured in plasma collected from the terminal portions of long efferent vessels at the subcapsular surface of the rat kidney. Sodium concentration equaled and the concentrations of chloride and inulin were less than those in peripheral plasma. During benzolamide infusion, chloride concentration equaled while inulin concentration remained less than in peripheral plasma. In free-flow micropuncture samples collected randomly during control conditions, chloride concentration rose rapidly in the early proximal tubule and then remained elevated and constant throughout the remainder of the proximal tubule accessible to micropuncture. These experiments indicate that normally tubular reabsorbate low in chloride and inulin is added to the blood traversing the early postglomerular vessels before reaching the kidney surface. Bases on the analyses of proximal tubular fluid, this type of reabsorbate appears available only from the early proximal tubular segment. We conclude that a close functional relationship exists between the first segment of the proximal tubule and the early postglomerular blood supply characteristic of the superficial cortical nephron.