Comparison of different disk searching methods

The efficiency of various disk file processing methods is compared. Serial search and activity frequency ordered list processing, direct access and merged sequential processing are compared and the increase in processing time due to overflow records is calculated. Relationships are given to decide which method is faster in practice for concrete data sets and devices.     

Role strain in couples with and without a child with a chronic illness: associations with marital satisfaction, intimacy, and daily mood

The tryptophan depletion test is a research strategy to investigate the functional consequences of decreasing the brain serotonin metabolism. Because serotonin is involved in sleep regulation and the regulation of affective states, we studied the acute polysomnographic effects of tryptophan depletion and expected to induce similar changes of sleep EEG as observed in depressed patients. A total of 12 healthy subjects (mean age 34 +/- 3 years) had eight polysomnograms, divided in two blocks of 4 consecutive nights. After one adaptation and 1 baseline night, subjects received a low-protein diet on day 3 and 4 until midday. On day 4 at 18.00 h, they drank an amino acid mixture either devoid of tryptophan or containing 2.3 g of tryptophan (placebo control) in randomized and double-blind order, resulting in an 85% decrease (tryptophan depletion) and a 144% increase (placebo control) of serum tryptophan at 22.00 h. After tryptophan depletion but not placebo, significant effects on sleep EEG were observed in terms of decreased non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) stage 2, increase of wake %, and of rapid eye movement (REM) density compared with baseline. REM latency was not altered, however the first and second REM period interval were significantly shorter after tryptophan depletion. This study underlines the impact of the serotonergic system on sleep maintenance and on REM sleep.     

Assertiveness training for disabled adults in wheelchairs: Self-report, role-play, and activity pattern outcomes.

34 physically disabled adults participated in an 11-wk assertiveness training (AT) program. Ss were randomly assigned to either AT or a waiting-list (WL) condition. Each was asked to complete 3 self-report measures, a role-play test, and a social and recreational activity diary. The AT Ss showed significant improvements on both self-reported assertiveness and role-play performance from pre- to posttreatment, whereas WL controls showed no changes on these measures. No significant changes in frequency of social or recreational activities were found at posttest for either AT or control Ss. A mixed pattern of results was shown at 6-mo follow-up. Posttest gains were maintained across all self-report measures of assertiveness and acceptance of disability, whereas role-play performance approached baseline levels at 6-mo follow-up. Overall results support the use of AT in enhancing perceived social efficacy and interpersonal skill of physically disabled adults in wheelchairs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining the construct validity of the Eating Disorder Inventory.

The construct validity of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) was examined in 3 samples. An archival clinic sample (n=318) of women completed the EDI, a structured interview, and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory--II (MCMI-II). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) indicated that neither null nor 1-factor models of the EDI fit item-level or item-parcel data. The proposed 8-factor model did not fit at the item level but did fit item-parcel data. Reliability estimates of the 8 scales ranged from .82 to .93, and low-to-moderate interscale correlations among the eating and weight-related scales provided partial support for convergent validity. EDI personality scales showed moderate interscale correlations and were associated with MCMI-II scales. A final CFA of the EDI scales supported a 2-factor model (Eating and Weight, Personality) of the 8 EDI scales. Strong associations between depression and several EDI scale scores were found in a treatment study sample (n=50). The archival clinic sample scored significantly higher on the 8 EDI scales than the nonpatient college comparison sample (n=487). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Caregiving for children and adults with chronic conditions: introduction to the special issue

The purpose of this study was to compare the value of dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and fat suppression in detecting a pancreatic tumor. The subjects were 19 patients with invasive ductal adenocarcinoma and six patients with islet cell tumor where diagnosis was established pathologically. Breath-hold gradient echo images, breath-hold gradient echo images with fat suppression and breath-hold gradient echo images with dynamic enhancement at 1.5 T were obtained for all patients. The efficacies of these three imaging techniques were compared by calculating the contrast-to-noise ratio, as indicative of conspicuousness between a tumor-affected and a normal pancreas. As for adenocarcinoma, our results indicated that the usefulness in detecting the tumor was high, decreasing in the order dynamic contrast images > fat suppression images > plain images, and that the difference between any two of these three types of image was statistically significant. On the other hand, these imaging techniques showed no statistically significant difference in detecting islet cell tumors. In conclusion, dynamic MRI is the best method for detecting pancreatic adenocarcinoma. As the fat suppression technique has the advantage of being non-invasive, this method is suitable for screening studies of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. However, no advantage was recognized in using the fat suppression technique for detecting an islet cell tumor in comparison with plain MRI.     

Chronic parenting stress: Moderating versus mediating effects of social support.

Contrasted the widely cited "buffer" model of social support with an alternative mediator model. Distinctions were drawn between the functions of social support under chronic vs acute stress conditions, and between situation-specific stressors and major life events. Ongoing parenting stress was assessed in 96 mothers of deaf children and 118 matched controls. Tests of the competing models showed no moderating effects for social support. However, path analyses suggested that social support mediated the relationship between stressors and outcomes. Chronic parenting stress was associated with lowered perceptions of emotional support and greater symptoms of depression and anxiety. Furthermore, parenting stress accounted for a substantial proportion of the variance in psychological distress scores in contrast to life event stress, which was only weakly related to psychological outcomes. The implications of mediational models for understanding adaptation to chronic stress are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Efficient combination of index tables and hashing

It is shown that for data stored on direct access devices access time can be reduced without increasing storage demand, through a single level index table which itself is accessible by hashing. If the complete index table can be stored in main memory this method is always superior to direct hashing and to sequentially organized index tables. If the index table is stored on disk it always yields smaller access time than multi-level index tables and—depending on the size of the index table and on the number of records per track—it is comparable or better than hashing the data directly. Expressions are given to determine in this case which method is more efficient.     

Review of Parent-child interaction and development disabilities: Theory, research, and intervention.

Reviews the book, Parent-child interaction and development disabilities: Theory, research, and intervention by Kofi Marfo (see record 1988-98167-000). The growing interest in social support family-centered interventions for developmentally disabled children has found expression in this volume. The editor has outlined an ambitious set of objectives for the book, including "the integration of theoretical, research and clinical perspectives" on parent-child interactions with handicapped children. While certainly not the first attempt to apply a family focus to this population (e.g., Gallagher & Vietze, 1986), this book provides both a multidisciplinary approach to the field with an emphasis on data presentation. The book is divided into four major parts: (1) social-emotional aspects of parent-child interaction, (2) maternal response style and language development, (3) issues in intervention and evaluation, and (4) a review of parent-child observational systems. Each section is preceded by a brief introduction to the authors and topics to be covered. Although this method of organization enhances the cohesion of each section, certain topics are covered in much greater depth than others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors influencing elementary school teachers'' ratings of ADHD and ODD behaviors

Oligo-elements such as zinc (Zn), selenium (Se) and copper (Cu) have a significant influence on the function of the immune system. Various immunological and inflammatory changes are known to occur in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in serum oligo-elements levels during and following cardiopulmonary bypass. The serum levels of Zn, Se and Cu were determined in 67 consecutive patients, with coronary artery disease admitted for coronary artery bypass grafting. Blood samples for oligo-elements, analysis were withdrawn into metal-free tubes just prior to the start of cardiopulmonary bypass; at 30, 60 and 90 min into cardiopulmonary bypass; following weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass; 30 min after termination of cardiopulmonary bypass; at 24 h; and on the 5th postoperative day. Trace elements analyses were performed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Interleukin 6 and 8, as well as serum albumin, creatine phosphokinase, lactate dehydrogenase and creatine phosphokinase-MB fractions were also analyzed. The mean age was 63 +/- 9 years and 91% (61) were men. The mean preoperative left ventricular function was 52 +/- 12%, Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) angina class was 3.7 +/- 0.5 and 30% (20) of the operations were re-do's. All patients had normothermic cardiopulmonary bypass. Mean cardiopulmonary bypass-time was 85 +/- 31 min. One patient was lost for the recovery sampling (hospital mortality, 1.5%). Nine patients had a postoperative cardiac index < 2.0 liter/min per m2, which required pharmacological support and additional intra-aortic balloon pump in two of them. Other postoperative complications were few. There was a rapid depletion of S-selenium and S-Zn levels, which were halved at 30 min after cardiopulmonary bypass and remained low throughout the study period. The Cu/Zn ratio increased significantly at the start of cardiopulmonary bypass, which indicated an inflammatory reaction and was not normalized until the 5th postoperative day. Length of ischemia time, presence of diabetes. hypertension and hyperlipidemia did not influence the results, while a prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass-time > 120 min resulted in a higher Cu/Zn ratio than observed for shorter cardiopulmonary bypass-times. This indicates a more profound inflammatory response. Inflammatory parameters responded in the same manner as described earlier by others. These data indicate that severe loss of various oligo elements occur in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting and suggests that a supplementary administration of zinc and perhaps also selenium could be appropriate during cardiopulmonary bypass.     

Audition and visual attention: the developmental trajectory in deaf and hearing populations

This study examined the development of visual attention in 5- to 13-year-olds who differed in their access to sound. Hearing children, deaf children with cochlear implants, and deaf children without implants participated in a task in which they were to respond to some visual signals and not others. The results of Experiment I indicated that the timing of developmental changes in visual selective attention was similar for all 3 groups, occurring around 8 years. The magnitude of age-related change differed among groups; hearing children and older deaf children using a cochlear implant reached higher levels of performance with age than did deaf children without enhanced access to sound. The results of Experiment 2 suggest that the developmental differences between deaf children with and without cochlear implants begin prior to 8 years and may be related to their use of environmental sounds to organize visual attention.