Chemical interventions for pain.

Discusses properties and pharmacological effects of medications for pain, including peripherally acting analgesics, centrally acting narcotics, and adjuvant analgesics including antidepressants. The role of the endogenous opioid system in pain and depression is discussed. Clinical management issues in both inpatient and outpatient settings are explored, with emphasis on the need to address the psychosocial context in which medications are prescribed. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antecedents of complex social cognitions.

Examined the hypothesis that individuals process their experiences at higher levels of cognitive complexity when the situational affordances are congruent with their motivational dispositions. Power- and intimacy-motivated Ss viewed a videotape of 2 job candidates involved in a peer interview under conditions that made either power or intimacy a relevant concern. As predicted, the complexity with which Ss evaluated the target persons was greater when perceivers' motives were congruent with the situation. Findings are discussed in terms of a congruency model of the antecedents of cognitive complexity that includes both dispositional and situational influences and represents their impact on multiple components of cognitive complexity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Which are the stimuli in facial displays of anger and happiness? Configurational bases of emotion recognition.

Two studies examined the hypothesis that geometric patterns in the facial expressions of anger and happiness provide information that permits observers to recognize the meaning of threat and warmth. A 1st study sought to isolate the configural properties by examining whether large-scale body movements encode affect-related meanings in similar ways. Results indicated that diagonal and angular body patterns convey threat, whereas round body patterns convey warmth. In a 2nd study, a set of 3 experiments using models of simple geometric patterns revealed that acute angles with downward pointing vertices conveyed the meaning of threat and that roundedness conveyed the meaning of warmth. Human facial features exhibit these same geometric properties in displays of anger and happiness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Market study: biomaterials supply for permanent medical implants

The withdrawal of DuPont as a supplier of key raw materials created a major dislocation in the medical device industry. We studied the present and future impact caused by the market removal of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) yarn ("Dacron"), polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) fiber and resin ("Teflon"), and polyacetal resin ("Delrin"). Findings were: 1) Dollar values of the permanent medical implant markets for PET yarn, PTFE fiber and resin, and polyacetal resin are a minute fraction, of their values for their other commercial markets; 2) The implant market value is clearly not commensurate with the liability risk; and 3) The majority of these materials consumed by this market are used in the production of lifesaving, permanent medical implants [e.g., vital blood vessel replacements made from knitted polyester (PET)]. The remainder is used in life-enhancing, permanent implants [e.g., hernia patches made of polyester (PET) fabric].     

Pharmacokinetics of oral glyburide in subjects with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and renal failure

There is considerable controversy about the distal clearance margin that needs to be maintained beyond the extent of a rectal tumor in order to reduce the risk of local recurrence. We investigated the rate of local recurrence, distant metastases and survival in 87 patients who had undergone radical restorative resection of the rectum for cancer and had been followed up for a median period of over 6 years, and we analyzed the statistical relation (log-rank test for trend) with the length of the distal margin. The distal margin length was divided into three categories: 1 cm, 2 cm, and > or = 3 cm. No significant correlation was found between the length of the distal clearance margin and the oncologic outcome. Taken together, our data suggest that if the resection line distally falls on healthy tissue, there is no need to resect additional rectum in order to achieve a better outcome.