Prevention of marital distress: A longitudinal investigation.

This study examines the impact of an intervention designed to prevent divorce and marital distress. Both short- and long-term effects of a cognitive-behavioral marital distress prevention program were assessed. Forty-two couples planning marriage were matched and randomly assigned to intervention (n?=?21) and control (n?=?21) conditions. Couples participated in pre- and postintervention assessment sessions and in similar assessment sessions 1? years and 3 years later. The intervention emphasized communication and problem-solving skills, clarifying and sharing expectations, and sensual/sexual enhancement. Although postintervention results indicated that couples learned the skills taught in the program, no group differences emerged on self-report measures of relationship quality. At 1? years, intervention couples showed higher levels of relationship satisfaction than control couples. At 3 years, intervention couples showed higher levels of both relationship satisfaction and sexual satisfaction and lower levels of problem intensity. These data support cost-effective prevention programs for attacking the major social problem of divorce. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Postinjury employment outcomes among African-American and White persons with spinal cord injury.

Investigated the postinjury employment status of 1,042 Whites and 196 Blacks enrolled in the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center database to determine whether factors that influence re-employment differ for the 2 racial groups. These factors included age, education, and marital status at time of injury; gender; neurologic level and extent of injury; and vocational rehabilitation client status. Age and education were found to predict employment status for both Whites and Blacks, with education being an especially strong predictor for Blacks. Gender had an impact on re-employment only for Blacks, while neurologic level of injury was predictive only for Whites. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Respiratory electromyographic estimates of ventilatory functions in piglets

The best electromyographic (EMG) predictors of respiratory drive (P100), tidal volume (VT) and ventilation (VE) were determined from diaphragmatic (DI) and posterior cricoarytenoid (PCA) EMG measures in 8-48-day-old, anesthetized piglets. Progressive hypercapnia was employed to obtain a wide range of muscle activity. A custom-designed, microcomputer-based system was employed to measure the duration, peak amplitude, rate of rise (initial slope) as well as the summed total and initial (first 100 ms) EMG activity from the DI and the PCA. For each respiratory function, the following combinations of EMG measures were identified as significant predictors using regression analyses: (1) for P100, DI amplitude, PCA initial area and PCA rate of rise; (2) for VT, DI amplitude, PCA duration and DI duration; (3) for VE, DI amplitude, DI initial area, PCA initial area, PCA rate of rise, PCA duration, DI area and DI rate of rise. Thus, whereas the traditionally employed measure of DI amplitude is an important correlate of P100, VT or VE, a complete estimate of these respiratory functions requires the inclusion of initial EMG measures and duration.     

Literature about school psychology: Who writes what for whom?

Discusses reasons why the field of school psychology has not been successful in shaping its own destiny. Lack of terminal doctoral degrees among school psychologists and the restriction from private practice sometimes enforced by school systems are cited as possible reasons. A 3rd reason suggested is that psychology professors, and not the actual school psychology practitioners, succeed in publishing because there is more incentive (i.e., pressure) for the professors to do so. It is suggested that school psychologists (with or without doctoral degrees) be provided with incentives to write. (1 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Automatic segmentation and quantification of electron micrographs: extracellular components

Extracellular glycosaminoglycans when precipitated by tannic acid, appear in electron micrographs as amorphous reticulate masses or fragments sometimes finely beaded and often associated with collagen fibrils. An algorithm for automatic classification, segmentation, and quantification of the amount of tannic acid-precipitable material (TAPM) and collagen in electron microscopic images is presented. Small patches of a region are initially located and the patch boundaries are traced using a binary contour tracing algorithm. The patches are then grown out and merged together to form one large area. This area is classified using a two-dimensional feature vector into one of two classes: a region with TAPM and collagen, or one with cell bodies and/or processes. Once these areas are classified and segmented, the distribution of TAPM is measured. The algorithm was tested on several TAPM images displaying varying amounts and configurations of TAPM with good results. It may also be adapted to process other electron microscopic images containing elements of interest which have complex or amorphous form.     

Effects of paint sniffing on neuropsychological test performance.

Examined the effects of paint sniffing on neuropsychological test performance by employing 20 sniffers (mean age 18.5 yrs) and 20 comparable nonsniffers. A wide variety of tests were used as measures (e.g., Finger Tapping Test, Trail Making Test, Stroop Color-Word Test, and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test). It was found that sniffers were significantly lower than controls in the performance of 11 of the 13 test measures, including tests of motor speed, auditory discrimination, visuomotor functioning, and memory. An important finding was the relation found between duration of paint sniffing and level of test performance. According to the results, the longer a person had been involved in paint sniffing, the lower the performance on the neuropsychological tests. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of electrode ohmic losses and the role of the electrical connection in bipolar connected parallel plate electrodes

A mathematical model is used to predict current and potential distributions in electrochemical cell banks consisting of bipolar connected parallel plate electrodes. It is shown that the adoption of bipolar connection rather than monopolar connection alleviates the problems of a maldistribution of potential caused by limitations in electrode conductivity for a majority of cells in large cell banks. However, for the outer cells potential distribution is still not uniform regardless of the number of cells in the bank.     

Aumakua: Behavioral direction visions in Hawaiians.

Presents case histories of 3 17–20 yr old Hawaiian school dropouts (2 males and 1 female) who had persistent hallucinations while residing in a Job Corps training center. Desensitization techniques failed to alleviate the hallucinations. Clients were told to face the visions, which were of departed relatives, and listen for messages. The youths were advised to alter their behavior to match cultural and social norms. Though the trainees had no remorse for their past acts, they altered their behavior in accordance with the advice, and the hallucinations stopped. A comment is made regarding clients from different cultures. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)