Beyond the illusion of structural change: A process priming approach to psychotherapy outcome research.

Psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy outcome research has yet to differentiate between a psychological structure that is present but temporarily inactive and genuine change in that underlying structure. Thus, a decrease in maladaptive responding following treatment may sometimes reflect illusory structural change, with the patient remaining vulnerable to relapse in situations that activate the underlying pathogenic structure. Genuine structural change would be better assessed by deliberately seeking and failing to find evidence of the enduring presence of a pathogenic structure under conditions that typically activate that structure, using both implicit (e.g., free response) and explicit (self-report) outcome measures. Because implicit and explicit measures are differentially affected by situational variables (e.g., mood, mindset priming), rigorous psychotherapy research must use experimental techniques and multimodal assessments to assess outcome under the conditions most likely to evoke a pathological reaction in a seemingly recovered individual. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prospective, multicenter study of laparoscopic ventral hernioplasty. Preliminary results

BACKGROUND: A standard technique for laparoscopic ventral hernioplasty (peritoneal onlay using an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene [ePTFE] patch for hernias >/=4 cm2) is being used in a prospective, multicenter, long-term study. METHODS: Demographic, operative, and postoperative data were collected and analyzed. Follow-up clinical evaluations were conducted 7-10 days, 4 weeks, 6 months, 1 year, and then annually after surgery in all patients. RESULTS: In the first 2 years of the study, 144 patients were enrolled; nine were lost to follow-up. The mean operating time was 120 min. The mean follow-up was 222 days (range 5-731). Postoperative complications were five infections, three cases of prolonged ileus, one bowel obstruction, 23 seromas (15 resolved without intervention), and six hernia recurrences. Hospital discharge occurred a mean of 2.3 days after surgery and return to normal activity a mean of 15 days postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic prosthetic ventral hernioplasty avoids the large wound required in open repairs, with attendant complications and recurrences, and appears safe, especially if an ePTFE mesh is used. Compared with conventional open ventral hernioplasty, the laparoscopic technique may also allow shorter hospitalization and a quicker return to normal activities after surgery.     

The social endocrinology of dominance: Basal testosterone predicts cortisol changes and behavior following victory and defeat.

Past research suggests that individuals high in basal testosterone are motivated to gain high status. The present research extends previous work by examining endocrinological and behavioral consequences of high and low status as a function of basal testosterone. The outcome of a competition--victory versus defeat--was used as a marker of status. In Study 1, high testosterone men who lost in a dog agility competition rose in cortisol, whereas high testosterone men who won dropped in cortisol. Low testosterone men's cortisol changes did not depend on whether they had won or lost. Study 2 replicated this pattern of cortisol changes in women who participated in an experimental laboratory competition, and Study 2 extended the cortisol findings to behavior. Specifically, high testosterone winners chose to repeat the competitive task, whereas high testosterone losers chose to avoid it. In contrast, low testosterone winners and losers did not differ in their task preferences. These results provide novel evidence in humans that basal testosterone predicts cortisol reactivity and behavior following changes in social status. Implications for the social endocrinology of dominance are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of frequency limited bubble device performance and material characteristics

We have observed the propagation margins as a function of frequency and temperature for a simple half-disk type test circuit fabricated on an (YSmLuCa)3(FeGe)5O12film. We have also measured the temperature dependence of the stripe width, anisotropy field, collapse field, mobility and dynamic coercivity. The frequency dependence of the margin demonstrates that in this circuit, the material is velocity limited above 300 kHz. In the range -20°C to +60°C, the upper and lower margin limits at a given frequency track the collapse field. Over this same temperature range, the mobility varies from 500 to 850 cm/sec-Oe and we conclude that the mobility is not the parameter which limits the device performance. The calculated saturation velocity is independent of temperature in this region and we propose that it is responsible for the failure of the circuit at the highest frequency. In the range from -20°C to +60°C, the coercivity becomes appreciable and the circuit performance deteriorates due to a decrease in the effective drive field.     

Specifying distributed CICS in Z: Accessing local and remote resources

The CICS/ESA Intercommunication Guide is a source of information about distributed CICS systems. Among other things, it describes how an application program running on one system can issue a command that will be shipped to a remote system. A resource manager located at the remote system will execute the command and ship back a response.This paper presents a formal specification of the above interaction between application programs and resource managers. Some familiarity with the Z specification language is assumed. The structure of the specification illustrates how it is possible to address separately, and later combine, different aspects of a complex system, including its distributed nature.IBM is a trademark of the International Business Machines Corporation.     

A burden of proof: Stereotype relevance and gender differences in math performance.

Three studies explored gender differences in mathematics performance by investigating the possibility that men and women have different concerns when they take standardized math tests, and that when these gender-specific performance concerns are made relevant, performance may suffer. Results of 3 studies supported these hypotheses. In Study 1, women who believed a math test would indicate whether they were especially weak in math performed worse on the test than did women who believed it would indicate whether they were exceptionally strong. Men, however, demonstrated the opposite pattern, performing worse on the ostensible test of exceptional abilities. Studies 2 and 3 further showed that if these gender-specific performance concerns are alleviated by an external handicap, performance increases. Traditional interpretations of male–female differences on standardized math tests are discussed in light of these results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characteristics of patients at risk for perioperative myocardial infarction after infrainguinal bypass surgery: an exploratory study

Two numerical brain phantoms were generated in order to investigate errors which might be included in the quantitative measurement of regional CBF with use of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). The first phantom simulated the normal brain, and effects of the limited spatial resolution of the SPECT scanner were evaluated for 4 tracer kinetic models of the conventional microsphere model, the intra-carotid bolus injection technique of 133Xe, 133Xe Kanno-Lassen method, and the IMP-autoradiography (IMP-ARG) method. The second phantom simulated the diseased brain with middle-carotid artery (MCA) occlusion, and effects of the limited first-pass extraction fraction were investigated for the microsphere model with various permeability-surface area products. The limited spatial resolution caused systematic underestimation of the radioactivity concentration in the gray matter regions, and systematic overestimation in the low CBF regions. These errors in the original radioactivity distribution were found to cause further systematic errors in the calculated regional CBF images. It was also found that these errors were highly dependent on the tracer kinetic model employed, e.g., regional CBF values were overestimated in the clearance and the Kanno-Lassen methods compared with the conventional microsphere method, whereas values were underestimated in the IMP-ARG method. It was also shown in this study that the limited first-pass extraction fraction caused significant underestimation in the calculated rCBF values. In addition, regional contrast can be reduced when using a tracer with small PS product.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Self psychology and the analysis of the superego.

The thesis of this article is that self psychology can be construed as a superego psychology in that both involve an intensive study of the self-regulatory and self-evaluative functions of the mind and their precursors in early object relations. Kohut's clinical contribution can be redefined in terms of the structural model as the delineation of the regressive, pathological, and healthy methods through which the ego attempts to restore the approval of the superego. Kohut's grandiose self can be seen as a precursor of the ego ideal and his idealized parent imago as a precursor of conscience. Conflict between the ego ideal and the conscience constitutes a vital aspect of intrapsychic functioning which self psychology has neglected in its focus upon developmental arrest. Sexual and aggressive aims play an important role in regaining the approval of the superego through their unique capacity to evoke a sense of the omnipotence of the corporeal self. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)