Rehabilitation psychology and law.

Examines the relationship between rehabilitation psychology and the law, noting that written laws can be another source of barriers on the disabled, just as societal attitudes also have a negative impact on handicapped individuals. A model of psycholegal research on the disabled and the concept of both disability and handicap is presented: rehabilitation psychologists need to scientifically determine the components of the law (e.g., legal systems, legal processes). Rehabilitation psychologists also can be involved professionally in helping the law achieve its behavioral goals (e.g., in eligibility hearings for disability). Articles by B. Sales, H. E. Yuker, I. Keilitz and R. Van Duizend, M. Rosenthal and K. I. Kolpan, and P. H. DeLeon et al (see PA, Vol 74:18687, 19815, 19868, and 18635, respectively) are also summarized in this special issue. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Kinetic studies of adsorption of bitter principles and titratable acid from grapefruit juice

Measurement of the initial rates of removal of limonin and naringin from grapefruit juices by several polystyrene and polyacrylic adsorbents has allowed these adsorbents, in the forms as supplied, to be ranked in their order of kinetic effectiveness for removal of the two bitter principles. Partition coefficients of bitter principles between juice and polystyrene adsorbent resins show that the capacity of such resins for naringin increases with specific surface area, but the capacity for limonin appears to increase with specific pore volume. With respect to titratable acid, the two weak base resins, Amberlite IRA-93 and Duolite A378, were equally effective both kinetically and in their capacity for titratable acid; both adsorbed somewhat less than 1 mol of titratable acid from grapefruit juice per equivaient of weak base resin.     

Stress and medical malpractice: Organizational risk assessment and intervention.

Four studies were conducted to examine both the relation between stress and medical malpractice and the impact of stress management programs in reducing malpractice risk. Sixty-seven hospitals and more than 12,000 individuals participated. In Study 1, hospital departments with a current record of malpractice reported higher levels of on-the-job stress than did matched, low-risk departments. In Study 2, workplace stress levels of 61 hospitals correlated significantly with frequency of malpractice claims. In Study 3, a longitudinal investigation was conducted to evaluate the impact of an organization-wide stress management program on the frequency of reported medication errors. Results suggest a significant drop in average monthly medication errors as a result of the program. Study 4 was a 2-year longitudinal investigation that compared the frequency of medical malpractice claims. Hospitals (n?=?22) that implemented an organization-wide stress management program had significantly fewer claims as compared with a matched sample of hospitals (n?=?22) that did not participate. Implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

MOISTURE PROFILES IN A MODEL FOOD GEL DURING DRYING: MEASUREMENT USING MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING AND EVALUATION OF THE HCKIAN MODEL

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to obtain moisture profiles of a model food gel during drying. A cylinder of gel, 1 cm in diameter, with an initial moisture content of 76% was imaged while drying at room temperature. Moisture profiles were obtained from the imaging data by imaging calibration samples of known moisture content. Signal intensity of the images was found to be highly proportional to solids content. The moisture profiles were compared to profiles predicted by a finite difference solution of Fickian radial diffusion in a cylinder. Actual moisture profiles obtained by MRI were much flatter near the center of the cylinder, with a steeper moisture profile near the edge, compared to the typical parabolic shape of the Fickian model. The Fickian model was found to be an inaccurate predictor of the interior moisture profile of the model food gel, since effective diffusivity was found to not be solely a function of moisture content. The moisture profiles obtained provide for a method to evaluate other mass transfer models, and the methods outlined provide a technique to explore mass transfer within actual food materials during processing.     

Age and forgetting rate with pictorial stimuli.

The rate of forgetting standardized line drawings of common objects was assessed in groups of young (M age?=?22 years) and older (M age?=?70.5 years) subjects. The two groups forgot equal quantities of pictorial stimuli over successive intervals of 10 min, 2 hr, and 48 hr, after being matched for original learning. In contrast, the older subjects showed the expected age decrement in reproduction of geometric designs from memory. These findings indicate that aging does not affect retention of pictures when differences in learning and retrieval abilities are controlled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of mutagenically separated PCR for the detection of the mutation associated with porcine stress syndrome

A point mutation in the Ryr1 gene encoding the ryanodine receptor in porcine skeletal muscle is associated with enhanced growth characteristics and leanness but also with porcine stress syndrome and pale, soft exudative meat in some animals. The current diagnostic test for the mutation is based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), followed by a restriction enzyme digestion step, prior to agarose gel electrophoresis. Using a technique known as mutagenically separated PCR (MS-PCR), a one-step procedure for the identification of the point mutation associated with porcine stress syndrome has been developed. This removes the requirement of the current PCR-based test for restriction enzyme digestion, is consequently quicker to perform, and may lend itself more readily to automation. DNA from blood samples from a series of animals were genotyped using both the conventional test and MS-PCR, and complete agreement between the two methods was obtained.     

Temporal variations in the pattern of breathing

Breath-to-breath variations in the pattern of breathing can occur as uncorrelated random variations ("white noise"), correlated random changes, or as one of two types of nonrandom variations: periodic oscillations or nonrandom nonperiodic fluctuations. White noise is probably present in all physiological processes. In many cases, periodic variations are due to oscillations originating in chemoreflex feedback loops. It has long been hypothesized that correlated random variations in breathing pattern are due to central neutral "memory" mechanisms, but part of this behavior might be due to chemoreflex mechanisms. Recently it has been concluded that nonlinear interactions between pulmonary and airway afferent activities and integrative central respiratory mechanisms can produce nonrandom nonperiodic (and also periodic) variability of the respiratory pattern. These latter studies have provided new insights about the behavioral relevance of the integrative character of central respiratory mechanisms and the time-varying nature of pulmonary afferent activities and have emphasized the importance of identifying the physiological bases for these phenomena. These and other findings are interpreted assuming that respiratory rhythm generation/pattern formation occurs via a nonlinear oscillator, and novel inferences concerning temporal variations of the breathing pattern are proposed.     

Referral of patients with pain from pancreatic cancer for neurolytic celiac plexus block

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether patients with pancreatic cancer-associated pain living near a pain control center were more likely to undergo neurolytic celiac plexus block (NCPB) than those living at a distance and to determine the rationale of physicians at our institution for referring patients for NCPB. DESIGN: We retrospectively reviewed the frequency of use of NCPB in patients with pancreatic cancer and conducted an anonymous physician survey of referral patterns for NCPB for such patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective database of medical diagnoses and a clinical database at our institution were used to identify patients with pancreatic cancer within three geographic regions who were assessed during the inclusive years 1980 through 1989: group I ("local") = all patient with pancreatic cancer in Olmsted County, Minnesota; group II ("surrounding") and group III ("distant") = patients referred for pancreatic cancer evaluation who lived within 100 miles of our institution (excluding Olmsted County) or more than 100 miles from our institution, respectively. Medical records were retrospectively reviewed to assess the use of NCPB at any time during the course of pancreatic cancer. For the physician survey component, all medical oncologists, gastroenterologists, and general surgeons at our institution who might be responsible for the care of patients with pancreatic cancer were sent a questionnaire about their referral patterns for NCPB among patients with pancreatic cancer. RESULTS: Overall, approximately 15% of the 292 patients with pancreatic cancer studied underwent NCPB. Distance from our pain control center was not found to be associated with frequency of use of NCPB. Of the 78 physicians surveyed, 59 (76%) responded, and 35 of the responders (59%) had encountered at least 1 patient with pancreatic cancer during the preceding 12 months. In that subset of physicians, perceived barriers for referral for NCPB were limited appointment availability and need for repeating the procedure. CONCLUSION: On the basis of this study, referral patterns for NCPB in patients with pancreatic cancer do not seem to be associated with the geographic distance of a patient's residence from a pain control center. Improving appointment availability for NCPB might increase the number of patients offered this technique for control of pain.