Helping children to cope: Clinical issues for acutely injured and medically traumatized children.

Readers who work with medically traumatized children know the many challenges encountered in caring for them. This article identifies 2 sources of trauma (event-related and iatrogenic) and reviews important clinical considerations. In event-related traumatic injury, the child's processing of the injurious event is a central issue. When the source of the trauma is iatrogenic (caused by the medical treatment), the development of coping skills becomes a central clinical issue. Steps in the evaluation and intervention process (for both sources of trauma) include reviewing what happened, assessing associated beliefs, using displacement, explaining medical interventions, and helping parents manage their own affect. Furthermore, both sources of medical trauma can be effectively addressed by clinicians using the medical crisis counseling model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The association between selected metabolic parameters and left abomasal displacement in dairy cows

The objective of this study was to examine the association between selected metabolic parameters and subsequent left displaced abomasum (LDA) diagnosis in dairy cows. Forty-four LDA cows sampled in the third week ante partum (a.p.) which was at a median of 34 days prior to LDA diagnosis, 36 LDA cows sampled in the first week post partum (p.p.) which was at a median of 14 days prior and 28 LDA cows sampled in the second week p.p., which was at a median of 9 days prior to LDA diagnosis were used. Each case was matched to 3 controls by herd and calving date. Data were available from a large field study. Aspartate-aminotransferase (AST) activity, the concentrations of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), glucose, calcium and urea in blood, and the body condition score (BCS) were studied. Logistic regression was used to analyse the association between these parameters and subsequent LDA, adjusting for the effects of parity and pretreatment. A separate model was used for each sampling week and each parameter. In the third week a.p. none of the parameters were significantly associated with LDA. AST and BHB sampled in the first week p.p. and in the second week p.p. were significantly associated with LDA diagnosis. The higher the AST and BHB, the higher the odds of being diagnosed subsequently with LDA. The lower glucose and Ca in the second week p.p. the higher the odds of subsequent LDA diagnosis. Urea and BCS were not significantly associated with LDA in any of the weeks examined. We conclude that AST and BHB in the first and second week p.p. might be used as tests for subsequent LDA. Glucose, calcium, urea and body condition were either not significantly associated with LDA or significantly associated only in the second week p.p.; this may limit their use as tests for LDA.     

Producing a neural network for monitoring driver alertness from steering actions

There is a limit to the accuracy with which we can predict a person's state of alertness from their behaviour. Driver behaviour and alertness are, however, clearly related, and this should allow us to build a predictive model. For such a model to be of use it must be very general in its ability. Such generality is available at the expense of accuracy and a trade-off between overall error rate and quantity of usable predictions must consequently be made. This paper discusses a set of methods which were applied to the task of building a neural network based system for predicting driver alertness from steering behaviour. We show how an acceptable level of generality was achieved and how the trade-off between error rate and quantity of usable predictions was managed.     

Stand der Technik der Oberflächenveredelung durch Laser

State of the art of surface treatment by lasers . Lasers have a great future in surface treatment. Laser surface treatment should not be regarded as a replacement for existing methods. It cannot compete with mass production methods, but can be used whenever a local need arises for special properties or when conventional methods fail. Some new developments, such as laser gas treatment, are also extremely promising.     

Brief Intelligence Testing in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Do you use brief measures of intelligence? There is available an increasing variety of short forms and new and revised quick tests of intelligence. However, little is known about clinical practice using these abbreviated instruments. The authors report the results of a 4-country exploratory survey of the extent and circumstances of the use of short forms and quick tests. Such measures are commonly used, and practitioners generally followed literature-based advice about the role of brief measures. However, idiosyncratic subtest combinations and inappropriate prorating were also prevalent with short forms. Frequently used quick tests were identified, as were the reasons for using brief measures. The authors offer specific recommendations for the appropriate use of brief measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Elastic constants of binary iron-base alloys

The Young’s modulus (E) and shear modulus (G) of isotropic Fe and binary Fe-C, Fe-Co, Fe-Cr, Fe-Ir, Fe-Mn, Fe-Ni, Fe-Pt, Fe-Re, Fe-Rh, and Fe-Ru alloys have been determined as functions of composition (0 to 10 at. pet) and temperature (77 to 473 K) by a pulse-echo technique (100 kHz elastic waves). Poisson’s ratio (v) and the bulk modulus (K) have been derived from the values of E and G. The rates of change of E and G with composition (ΔE/Δc and ΔG/Δc) depend on the change of lattice parameter with composition and upon the position of the solute in the periodic table. Both negative and positive values of ΔE/Δc and ΔG/Δc are observed. The values of ΔE/Δc and ΔG/Δc are generally different so that Poisson’s ratio may increase or decrease with composition. Comparable changes in the value ofK/G also occur. These changes cannot be used to predict the effects of alloying additions on the toughness of iron. The temperature dependence of E andG of the alloys is similar to that of iron, decreasing in a nonlinear manner from 77 to 473 K.     

Structural equation modeling of the relationship between caregiver psychosocial variables and functioning of individuals with stroke.

Purpose/Objective: Stroke is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Informal caregivers are essential in the survival of most individuals with stroke and may even aid in their recovery. Yet caregivers experience high levels of burnout, depression, burden, and physical illness. Research Method/Design: With structural equation modeling and canonical correlation analysis, links were identified between caregiver psychosocial variables and specific aspects of the functioning of individuals with stroke in 135 care recipient-caregiver dyads. Results: Initial analyses uncovered a medium-sized correlation between caregiver variables and care recipients' functioning. Follow-up analyses pinpointed specific links between caregivers' sense of coherence and care recipients' basic engagement with life and between caregivers' levels of burden and depression and care recipients' cognitive deficits and depression. Conclusions/Implications: On the basis of these findings, the authors propose a feedback loop wherein caregivers' psychosocial functioning, their quality of caregiving, and stroke severity and recovery are causally interconnected. Findings are consistent with the use of cognitive-behavioral interventions for caregivers, which may improve caregivers' sense of coherence, reducing their levels of burden and depression and leading to improved informal care and better recovery from stroke. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Paranoid personality has a dimensional latent structure: Taxometric analyses of community and clinical samples.

Although paranoid personality is one of the most commonly diagnosed personality disorders and is associated with numerous negative life consequences, relatively little is known about the structural properties of this condition. This study examines whether paranoid personality traits represent a latent dimension or a discrete class (i.e., taxon). In Study 1, the authors conducted taxometric analyses of paranoid personality disorder criteria in a sample of 731 patients participating in the Collaborative Longitudinal Study of Personality Disorders project (Gunderson et al., 2000) who had been administered a semistructured diagnostic interview for personality disorders according to criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). In Study 2, the authors conducted parallel analyses of the Paranoia scale of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; L. C. Morey, 2007), using data from the PAI community and clinical normative databases. Analyses across both self-report and interview-based indicators offered compelling support for a dimensional structure. Additionally, analyses of external correlates in these data sets suggested that dimensional models demonstrated stronger validity coefficients with criterion measures than did dichotomous models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depressive symptomatology and coronary heart disease in Type I diabetes mellitus: A study of possible mechanisms.

Recent evidence has suggested that depressive symptomatology is a risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease (CHD) in patients with diabetes mellitus, although little is understood about mechanisms that may explain this association. The Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications (EDC) Study is a natural history study of 658 men and women with childhood-onset Type I diabetes. Participants from the EDC Study who reported the fewest depressive symptoms on the Beck Depression Inventory at baseline examination were least likely to develop CHD over 10 years. Differences in insulin resistance, autonomic dysregulation, inflammation, smoking, and complications associated with Type I diabetes appear to help explain this relationship. Future research should clarify causal pathways between depressive symptomatology, behavioral and physiological processes, and CHD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult age differences in predicting memory performance: The effects of normative information and task experience.

Two experiments addressed the effects of task information and experience on younger and older adults' ability to predict their memory for words. The 1st study, which involved 36 women (aged 20–30 yrs) and 36 women (aged 65–75 yrs), examined the effects of normative task information on Ss' predictions for 30-word lists across 3 trials. The 2nd study, which involved 2 groups of men and women (128 Ss total; aged 19–30 yrs and 54–77 yrs), examined the effects of making predictions and recalling either an easy or a difficult word list prior to making predictions and recalling a moderately difficult word list. Results from both studies showed that task information and experience affected Ss' predictions and that elderly adults predicted their performance more accurately than did younger adults. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)