Self-disclosure and coping styles in men with cardiovascular reactivity

The purpose of this study was to investigate self-disclosure, emotion-focused, and problem-focused coping styles among men with borderline hypertension and two groups of normotensive men differentiated by parental hypertension. Because blood pressure reactivity may discriminate between hypertensive and normotensive men, subjects in these three groups were categorized as high or low cardiovascular reactors based on their blood pressure response to a mental arithmetic task. Self-disclosure and coping styles were investigated in relation to status effects within the doctor-patient relationship. Men with exaggerated blood pressure reactivity were less self-disclosive and used fewer emotion-focused coping strategies than men with no blood pressure reactivity. Normotensives with a history of parental hypertension were less self-disclosive than normotensives without a history of parental hypertension.     

Perceived employment barriers and their relation to workforce-entry intent among people with HIV/AIDS.

As treatments have improved health and quality of life for people with HIV/AIDS, many have contemplated workforce reentry. Workforce reentry rarely occurs among people with illness-related disability. The authors mailed a survey that included workforce-entry-related concerns to 1,991 HIV/AIDS clients. Factor analysis extracted 6 areas of concern (benefits loss, work-related health, job skills, discrimination, personal health care, workplace accommodation). Levels of concern generally increased with HIV acuity level and time since last worked. Work-related health concerns predicted consideration of workforce entry, and work-related health concerns and benefits-loss concerns predicted estimated time to return to work. Findings provide quantitative validation of intuitive categories of workforce-entry concerns among people with HIV/AIDS and suggest that concerns may shift with progress toward workforce entry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of the Short Parkinson's Evaluation Scale: a new friendly scale for the evaluation of Parkinson's disease in clinical drug trials

The extensive use of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) has revealed low interrater reliability in some items and redundancy in others. In view of these shortcomings, we have structured a new scale that includes a zero-to three-point scale for each item in the evaluation of PD. The mental axis includes memory, thought disorders, and depression. Activities of daily living (ADL) includes eight items: speech, eating, feeding, dressing, hygiene, handwriting, walking, and turning in bed. The motor examination includes eight items: speech, tremor, rest and posture, rigidity, finger tapping, arising from chair, gait, and postural stability. Complications of therapy were also included: dyskinesias, dystonia, motor fluctuations, and freezing episodes, collected by history. In addition, a global scoring for motor fluctuations that should complement the Hoehn and Yahr Scale was incorporated. In this report, we present a statistical analysis of the ADL, motor evaluation, and complications of therapy sections. Concerning the interrater reliability mean, Kendall's W values were >0.9 for most of the items in the Short Parkinson's Evaluation Scale (SPES). Kendall's W <0.8 (motor evaluation) was found for two items of the SPES and nine items of the UPDRS. The mean interrater reliability for both scales across all seven centers (seven Kendall's W for seven centers) (Mann-Whitney test) showed no statistical differences between the scales. Spearman's correlations between items of both scales were significant. Factor analysis of the SPES and UPDRS data revealed a four-factor solution that explained approximately 60% of the data. All participating centers found the SPES easier to apply and quicker to complete, when compared with the UPDRS. The results obtained strongly favor the introduction of SPES for clinical practice.     

Phytate Removal from soybean proteins

The ability of Ca++, Ba++ and Zn++ ions to complex with and precipitate phytate ions was investigated as a possible approach for producing phytate-reduced soy-protein isolates. The treatments involved adding divalent cation reagents to mildly alkaline soyprotein extracts, or using mildly alkaline solutions of the cation reagent as protein extractant. Treatments used up to 5% (w/v) divalent cation reagent in dilute NaOH at pH 8–9 at room temperature with stirring for 1 hr. The proteins that remained soluble, or that were extracted following the above treatments, were further fractionated by dialysis against distilled water and then adjusted to the isoelectric pH of 4.5 with HCl. All treatments generally precipitated 15–90% of the total extracted proteins. The resulting phytate-reduced fractions had their total P reduced by ca. 30–74%, but their yields were reduced to only 11–85% of the total extract proteins. On the basis of these findings and on other adverse factors, e.g., toxicity, possible off-flavor and reduced functionality from residual precipitant ions, the divalent cation-fractionation method is not recommended for producing phytate-reduced soy-protein isolates for food use.     

Evaluation of four steering wheels to determine driver hand placement in a static environment

While much research exists on occupant packaging both proprietary and in the literature, more detailed research regarding user preferences for subjective ratings of steering wheel designs is sparse in published literature. This study aimed to explore the driver interactions with production steering wheels in four vehicles by using anthropometric data, driver hand placement, and driver grip design preferences for Generation-Y and Baby Boomers. In this study, participants selected their preferred grip diameter, responded to a series of questions about the steering wheel grip as they sat in four vehicles, and rank ordered their preferred grip design. Thirty-two male participants (16 Baby Boomers between ages 47 and 65 and 16 Generation-Y between ages 18 and 29) participated in the study. Drivers demonstrated different gripping behavior between vehicles and between groups. Recommendations for future work in steering wheel grip design and naturalistic driver hand positioning are discussed.     

Characterization of branched chain fatty acids from subcutaneous triacyglycerols of barley-fed lambs

The fatty acids of subcutaneous triacylglycerols (containing ca. 11% of branched chain components) from lambs fed on barley-rich diets were fractionated by treatment with mercuric acetate and by urea adduct formation to yield concentrates rich in the branched chain components, all of which were saturated. The concentrates were subjected to analysis by high resolution gas liquid chromatography in conjunction with mass spectrometry. The branched chain fatty acids consisted of a complex mixture of mono-, di-, and trimethyl substituted components. The greater part of the mixture comprised monomethyl substituted acids of chain length 10–17 carbon atoms. Within each of these molecular species, a number of positional isomers was identified, notably in respect of methyltetradecanoic acid (methyl substituent on carbon 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12) and methylhexadecanoic acid (methyl substituent on carbon 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 14). Homologous series also could be recognized of one of which all eight members from 4-methyldecanoic acid to 4-methylheptadecanoic acid were identified; together they accounted for ca. 39% of the branched chain fatty acids which were sampled for mass spectrometry. The dibranched acids identified consisted of five members of a homologous series, ranging in chain length from 11–15 carbon atoms and with substituent methyl groups at positions 4 and 8. Though the identity of only one tribranched acid (2,6,10-trimethyltetradecanoic acid) was established, others also apparently were present in the mixture. The probable involvement of methylmalonate in the biosynthesis of these branched chain acids is discussed briefly, with particular reference to the availability of vitamin B₁₂ in relation to the activity of methylmalonyl coenzyme A mutase.     

Attrition mill operating characteristics

The attrition mill is a device for mechanically reducing solid particle size by intense agitation of a slurry of material being milled and coarse milling media. For example, in 10 hours of milling, specific surfaces of 40 and 25 m²/g were obtained for alumina and barite, corresponding to 38 and 56 nm equivalent spherical diameter, respectively. Size reduction rates for relatively coarse particles were first-order and increased linearly with power input to the mill. Optimum milling medium concentration corresponded to medium particles moving a distance of approximately 0.7 of their diameter before collision with another such particle. Power characteristics of the attrition mill were essentially the same as those of a radial flow turbine mixer. Laminar flow became disrupted at N_Re ≈ 200, while turbulent flow was established at N_Re > 8000. Slurries of fine powders exhibited the same linear power-average density dependence as single-phase liquids. However, a different dependence was observed with large particles.