Perceptions of caring. Comparison of antepartum and postpartum patients

An exploratory, comparative survey design was used to describe and compare similarities and differences in perception of caring behaviors between hospitalized antepartum and short-stay postpartum patients. Forty-two patients completed the 63-item Caring Behavior Assessment instrument (CBA). The scale, based on Watson's theory of caring, contains seven categories. There were no statistically significant differences in age, education, gravida, or para between the two groups. Significantly more women in the postpartum group were married. There were no statistically significant differences or correlations in the total CBA scores and the demographic variables. No statistically significant differences in total CBA scores were found between antepartum participants and postpartum participants. These findings corroborate the results of "caring" studies in other patient populations, that satisfying basic needs--that is, evidence of technical knowledge and skills--is more important to patients than meeting higher order needs.     

The psychocultural roots of genocide. Legitimacy and crisis in Rwanda

In April 1994, the small east African nation of Rwanda became the site of one of the most violent episodes of the 20th century. Over the course of just 100 days, an embattled authoritarian state organized the slaughter of at least 850,000 Rwandans. Briefly, worldwide attention was riveted. But clichés about "age-old tribal hatreds" soon dominated discussion, conveying the impression that this was simply the latest episode in an unending cycle of violence. The truth, however, is quite different. The April genocide was in many ways unique. It was neither tribal nor age-old, and it is hardly fated to recur. Indeed, the author's premise is that if this genocide is grasped in all its psychocultural novelty and complexity, a point of Archimedean leverage can be found for interventions to avert tragedies in the future.     

Quantitative analysis and structure determination of styrene/methyl methacrylate copolymers by pyrolysis gas chromatography

A pyrolysis gas chromatography (Py-GC) method has been developed to study the composition and microstructure of styrene/methyl methacrylate (STY/MMA) copolymers. The composition was quantified by Py-GC using monomer peak intensity. Because of the poor stability of methyl methacrylate oligomers, neither MMA dimer nor MMA trimers were detected under normal pyrolysis conditions. The number-average sequence length for STY was determined by pure and hybrid trimer peak intensities. The number-average sequence length for MMA was determined by using formulas that incorporate composition and the number-average sequence length of STY. This method is a new approach for the investigation of the microstructure of those copolymers that do not produce dimer and trimer peaks upon pyrolysis.     

Sleep-induced breathing instability. University of Wisconsin-Madison Sleep and respiration Research Group

We present a view of the neuromechanical regulation of breathing and causes of breathing instability during sleep. First, we would expect transient increases in upper airway resistance to be a major cause of transient hypopnea. This occurs in sleep because a hypotonic upper airway is more susceptible to narrowing and because the immediate excitatory increase in respiratory motor output in response to increased loads is absent in non-REM sleep. Secondly, sleep predisposes to an increased occurrence of ventilatory "overshoots", in part because abruptly changing sleep states cause transient changes in upper airway resistance and in the gain of the respiratory controller. Following these ventilatory overshoots, breathing stability will be maintained if excitatory short-term potentiation is the prevailing influence. On the other hand, apnea and hypopnea will occur if inhibitory mechanisms dominate following the ventilatory overshoot. These inhibitory mechanisms include: a) hypocapnia-if transient, will inhibit carotid chemoreceptors and cause hypopnea, but if prolonged will inhibit medullary chemoreceptors and cause apnea; b) a persistent inhibitory effect from lung stretch; c) baroreceptor stimulation, from a transient rise in systemic blood pressure immediately following termination of apnea or hypopnea may partially suppress the accompanying hyperpnea; d) depression of central respiratory motor output via prolonged brain hypoxia. Once apneas are initiated, reinitiation of inspiration is delayed even though excitatory stimuli have risen well above their apneic thresholds, and these prolonged apneas are commonly accompanied by tonic EMG activation of expiratory muscles of the chest wall and upper airway.     

A microcomputer system for processing natural languages

This correspondence describes a microcomputer system, called ?BE (for microprocessor-based English), for processing natural languages. Its techniques and facilities, however, should be extendible to other languages. By using the microprocessor as special purpose hardware for several functions of a natural language processor (in particular, hashing and parsing), the system aids computational linguists by increasing the computational power available for natural language investigations. An overview of ?BE is given followed by a more detailed discussion of the hasher and parser. The paper concludes with specific applications of the microprocessor system to computational linguistics. ?BE is not based on a particular theory of language so that the system's user may define his own theory and investigate its consequences. ?BE contains facilities and capabilities to assist such investigations.     

A national survey of the weight loss in pig carcasses between slaughter and 24 hours post mortem

A national survey was carried out in Great Britain in 1978/79 to determine the weight loss occurring in pig carcasses between slaughter and 24 hours post mortem. A total of 20,600 carcasses were measured over a 12-month period, the sample covering forty-eight slaughtering plants and the main market weights of pig. At 24 hours post mortem, the overall mean weight loss was estimated to be 2·27% of the hot weight. The figure differed little between market weights or between times of the year, but there were important differences between slaughtering plants.     

A dual method for maximum entropy restoration

A simple iterative dual algorithm for maximum entropy image restoration is presented. The dual algorithm involves fewer parameters than conventional minimization in the image space. Mini-computer test results for Fourier synthesis with inadequate phantom data are given.     

Portable Device for Detection of Petit Mal Epilepsy

We have developed and tested a portable device that analyzes the electroencephalogram (EEG) to determine if petit mal epilepsy waveforms are present. Clinicians should rimd it useful in diagnosing seizure activity of their patients. The micropower, battery-operated, portable device indicates a seizure has occurred if three criteria are satisfied: 1) frequencies of 2.5-7 Hz, 2) large amplitude waves, and 3) minimum number of waves per second. Levels and counts are adjustable, thus insuring high reliability against noise artifacts and permitting each subject to be individually fitted. The device has shown promise in giving the patient a possible mechanism of seizure control or suppression.