Gender and representation in psychotherapy.

Investigated the ways in which patient and therapist gender influence the nature of patients' internalized representations of their therapist and the therapeutic relationship. A sample of 66 patients (29 males) completed the Therapist Representation Inventory (J. D. Geller et al, 1982), a self-report instrument designed to assess discrete properties of evoked representations. Results indicated widespread similarities between male and female patients in terms of the forms with which representations are evoked and the themes embodied in these representations. The differences that emerged suggest that women are more likely to keep their therapists in mind (and for longer periods of time) when working on their problems outside of therapy and that women with male therapists are especially likely to daydream about therapy and acknowledge missing their therapist in between sessions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gel-entrapment of perfluorocarbons: a fluorine-19 NMR spectroscopic method for monitoring oxygen concentration in cell perfusion systems

Oxygenation is a major determinant of the physiological state of cultured cells. 19F NMR can be used to determine the oxygen concentration available to cells immobilized in a gel matrix by measuring the relaxation rate (1/T1) of perfluorocarbons (PFC) incorporated into the gel matrix. In calcium alginate gel beads without cells the relaxation rate (1/T1) of the trifluoromethyl group of perfluorotripropylamine (FTPA) varies linearly with oxygen concentration, with a slope of 1.26 +/- 0.15 x 10(-3) s-1 microM-1 and an intercept of 0.50 +/- 0.04 s-1. During perfusion with medium equilibrated with 95%/5% O2/CO2, changes in PFC T1s indicate that the average oxygen concentration was reduced from 894 +/- 102 microM in the absence of cells to 476 +/- 65 microM and 475 +/- 50 microM in the presence of 0.7 x 10(8) EMT6/Ro and RIF-1 murine tumor cells per milliliter of gel, respectively. The presence of 0.2 microliters of FTPA/ml of gel had no effect on the energy status of the cells as indicated by 31P NMR spectra. To calculate oxygen gradients within the beads from the average PFC T1 of the sample, a mathematical model was used assuming that oxygen is the limiting nutrient for cell metabolism and that the cellular oxygen consumption rate is independent of oxygen concentration. Data for EMT6/Ro cells were fit using experimentally determined perfusion parameters together with literature values for cell volume and oxygen consumption rate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Association of age and body weight with periodontal disease in North American dogs

Thirteen hundred and fifty dogs were examined under anesthesia at veterinary hospitals in the USA and Canada. Periodontal health was recorded in detail. Teeth were frequently absent (particularly lower third molar, upper and lower first premolars, and incisor teeth). Calculus was most extensive on the upper fourth premolar and molar teeth. Missing teeth, mobility of remaining teeth, extent of calculus and gingival inflammation, and furcation exposure and attachment loss all were more common in small dogs compared with larger dogs, and in order dogs compared with younger dogs.     

The UCLA Multidimensional Condom Attitudes Scale: Documenting the complex determinants of condom use in college students.

Describes the development and validation of the UCLA Multidimensional Condom Attitudes Scale (MCAS). The relationships between the MCAS and gender, sexual experience, intentions to use a condom, and past condom use were assessed. The MCAS has 5 distinct factors: (1) Reliability and Effectiveness of condoms, (2) the sexual Pleasure associated with condom use, (3) the stigma attached to persons who use condoms (Identity Stigma), (4) the Embarrassment About Negotiation and Use of condoms, and (5) the Embarrassment About the Purchase of condoms. Results strongly suggest that condom attitudes are multidimensional and thus cannot meaningfully be summed to a single global score. Results further indicate that men and women hold very different attitudes toward condoms. Implications of scale multidimensionality and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family burden following traumatic brain injury.

Investigated burden experienced by 60 spouses and 71 parents who served as primary caregivers to individuals with traumatic brain injury (BI). Burden levels, as assessed by the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress (QRS-SF), were compared for spouses and parents. Both parents and spouses exhibited high levels of burden. Relative to spouses, parents reported significantly greater burden related to lifespan care. Spouses reported significantly less personal reward than did parents. The presence of social aggression and cognitive disability in the individual with BI was found to have a greater association with subjective burden of caregivers than was the presence of physical disability or injury severity. Results of previous studies with QRS-SF scores show that the responsibility assumed by spouses and parents of persons with BI was as great as that experienced by families of people with severe chronic physical disabilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Re-examination of residual arousal as an explanation of aftereffects: Frustration tolerance versus response speed.

Three experiments, with 98 undergraduates, investigated the effects of increasing task difficulty and noise intensity on postnoise persistence on the Feather tolerance for frustration puzzles. In Exp I, greater persistence occurred both after exposure to moderate noise levels (55 db [A]) and an easy perceptual-motor task and after high noise levels (90 db [A]) and a more difficult task. The same pattern of persistence was obtained in Exp II, with more attempts to solve the Feather puzzles occurring after moderate noise and an easy cognitive task and after loud noise and a more difficult cognitive task. In Exp III, a modified Feather task was presented with instructions to determine solvability. A similar U-shaped relationship was obtained, with longer correct response times to unsolvable puzzles following low noise and high noise. Such aftereffect patterns are more easily explained as the result of residual arousal than of frustration tolerance. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Book review

Published in 1989, 585 pages, $180; Available from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 345 East 47th St., Publication Sales Department, New York, NY 10017.     

Does Privacy Have a Future after 9/11?

A few years ago, Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy created uproar by declaring: ‘You have zero privacy. Get over it.’ ( Sprenger, 1999 ) The question, at least for Americans, is did the 11 September terrorist attacks – and the response to them – prove him right? Is privacy really dead?     

Interpretation of chemically created periapical lesions using direct digital imaging

Perchloric acid (70%) was used to create simulated periapical lesions in tooth sockets of 15 dentate cadaver jaw specimens. Using the Trophy USA direct digital radiographic system, linear images were captured at selected time intervals after initial acid application and altered by contrast reversal, pseudocolor enhancement, and two forms of histogram equalization. The 525 total images were randomized for display on a computer monitor for evaluation by five endodontists. Images were evaluated twice by each rater, with viewings 1 to 2 wk apart. Statistical analysis determined interrater variability, intrarater reproducibility, and the relative merits of each enhancement technique. At 8, 12, 16, and 24 h after acid application, both techniques of histogram equalization yielded a statistically significant improvement over reverse contrast in perception of periapical patholais. Linear and pseudocolor-enhanced images were also significantly more diagnostic than reverse contrast at 12, 16, and 24 h. Intrarater reproducibility showed moderate agreement, but analysis showed only a fair level of interrater agreement.