Posttraumatic stress disorder arising after road traffic collisions: Patterns of response to cognitive–behavior therapy.

Road traffic collisions (RTCs) are common precipitants of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Two preliminary studies suggest that cognitive–behavior therapy (CBT) is, on average, effective in treating this disorder, although the major patterns of treatment outcome remain to be identified. Such outcomes might include treatment response, partial response, and response followed by relapse. To identify these patterns, 50 people with RTC-PTSD completed a 12-week course of CBT, with outcome assessment extending to 3-month follow up. Dynamic cluster analyses revealed 2 replicable patterns of outcome: one for responders (n?=?30) and one for partial responders (n?=?20). Partial responders, compared with responders, tended to have more severe pretreatment numbing symptoms and greater anger about their RTC, along with lower global levels of functioning, greater pain severity and interference, and greater depression and were more likely to be taking psychotropic medications. Responders and partial responders did not differ in homework adherence, number of sessions attended, therapist effects, or stressors occurring during therapy or in the presence or absence of RTC-related litigation. Implications for enhancing treatment outcome are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fluence rate linear response limit of a scintillators to γ-rays

Scintillation detectors based on LSO, CeF and PbWO are the main candidates for measuring T- rays in a mixed γ/n pulsed radiation field with high intensity. An experiment using the Lissajous figure method to study the high fluence rate response behavior of     

Are traumatic events necessary to elicit symptoms of posttraumatic stress?

A diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been conceptualized as being precipitated by a particularly traumatic stressor (e.g., combat exposure, rape, and violent assault). Recent research suggests that common stressful events (e.g., relational problems, divorce, and expected death of a loved one) may also be capable of eliciting posttraumatic symptomatology. The current study replicated and extended these previous findings, examining three groups of event exposure: those who reported experiencing only traumatic events in the past year, those who reported experiencing only significant stressful life events in the last year, and those who experienced both types of events. Consistent with previous findings, we found that all three groups of event exposure, including those experiencing only stressful life events, experienced similar amounts of PTSD symptomatology across symptom clusters. These data add to the growing literature that suggests that the type of events that cause symptoms of PTSD may be broader than the current diagnostic criteria indicate, and as such calls for more rigorous research in this area to better understand the diagnostic implications of these findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Juvenile male rape victims: is the level of post-traumatic stress related to personality and parenting?

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the level of post-traumatic stress in juvenile male rape victims and to test for its relationships with perceived parental rearing and personality dimensions. METHOD: Fifteen subjects (mean age of 16 years) were recruited from a correctional camp for juvenile criminals in Arkhangelsk, Russia. They were investigated by means of the "Revised Impact of Event Scale," the "Child Self-Report Post-Traumatic Stress Reaction Index," the "Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale," the "EMBU" (perceived parental rearing) and the "Temperament and Character Inventory" (TCI). RESULTS: The level of post-traumatic stress, in most cases moderate to high, correlated with the temperament dimensions of harm avoidance and reward dependence. As concerns parental rearing, the total level of post-traumatic stress reaction was negatively correlated with paternal emotional warmth and positively with paternal rejection. CONCLUSIONS: The experience of post-traumatic stress is influenced by temperamental characteristics as well as by perceived parental rearing practices. Assumingly, these factors also play a role in becoming a rape victim, which deserves further investigation.     

Recall of interrupted tasks under stress: A phenomenon of memory or of learning?

The study proposed to answer three questions: "1. Is superior recall of successes in an intelligence test situation (S-recall) a function of selective forgetting (repression) of failures or selective learning in favor of successes? 2. Is superior recall of failures in this situation (F-recall) a function of selective remembering or selective learning in favor of failures? 3. Is there a mnemonic reaction to the test as a whole?" Findings indicate that: "1. Both the S- and f-recall tendencies were due to a selective learning rather than a selective remembering mechanism. 2. A repression was demonstrated for S-recallers with regard to the stress situation as a whole. 3. A comparable process of enhanced retention of the total stress situation was not demonstrated for F-recallers; rather the effect here was due to enhanced registration." Implications of results are discussed. It is suggested that "experimental tests of repression… fulfill a criterion of cognitive relevance of test materials." 23 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional modulation of the attentional blink: Is there an effect of stress?

Individuals are often unable to identify the second target (T2) of two when it is presented within 500 ms after the first target (T1). This “attentional blink” (AB) is attenuated by an emotionally arousing T2. Stress is known to affect cognitive performance, in particular for emotional material. In the present study, we asked whether (a) an emotional T2 reduces the AB when preceded by an emotional T1 and (b) the emotional modulation of the AB is affected by stress. Participants were presented neutral and aversive words as T1 and T2 in rapid serial visual presentation after they were exposed to stress (socially evaluated cold pressor test) or a control condition in a crossover manner. Our results indicate that an aversive T1 extends the AB. Aversive T2 attenuated the AB in the presence of a neutral, but not an aversive, T1. Stress-enhanced T2 detection and high cortisol responses to stress reduced the AB. However, neither stress nor cortisol interacted with the emotionality of the target words. In summary, these findings point to a strong impact of emotional factors on early perceptual experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disorders of extreme stress following war-zone military trauma: Associated features of posttraumatic stress disorder or comorbid but distinct syndromes?

Disorders of extreme stress not otherwise specified (DESNOS) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were found to be comorbid but distinct among military veterans seeking inpatient PTSD treatment: 31% qualified for both conditions, 29% were diagnosed PTSD only, 26% were classified DESNOS only, and 13% met criteria for neither. PTSD diagnosis was associated with elevated levels of war-zone trauma exposure and witnessing atrocities and with impairment on the Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related PTSD and the Penn Inventory. DESNOS classification (but not PTSD) was associated with (a) early childhood trauma and participation in war-zone atrocities, (b) extreme levels of intrusive trauma reexperiencing, (c) impaired characterological functioning (object relations), and (d) use of intensive psychiatric services. PTSD and DESNOS may be comorbid but distinct posttraumatic syndromes and, as such, warrant careful clinical and scientific investigation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Uterine allergy: a cause of preterm birth?

OBJECTIVE: To identify the origin of eosinophils in cases of eosinophil-associated preterm delivery. METHODS: From an established set of 465 consecutive non-anomalous singleton infants delivered at 22-32 weeks' gestation, we retrieved 161 cases of preterm delivery following spontaneous onset of preterm labor, 78 cases with maternal preeclampsia, 33 cases of abruption, and 193 cases of premature rupture of membranes (PROM). Charts were reviewed, and the placenta, umbilical cord, and membranes were examined histologically. In cases with extravascular eosinophils showing evident gradient toward the amniotic cavity, the origin of the eosinophils (fetal or maternal) was determined by the proximity to fetal or maternal vessels. RESULTS: Histologic evidence of an eosinophilic gradient toward the amniotic cavity was present only in the fetal (including umbilical cord and chorion) compartments. This eosinophilic gradient was present in 19% (90 of 465) of preterm delivery cases and was significantly more common in cases of PROM (54 of 193, 28%) and preterm labor (34 of 161, 21%) than abruption (two of 33, 6%) and preeclampsia (none of 78) (P < .001). In 84 of 90 cases (93%), the eosinophilic gradient was present along with multiple histologic indicators of acute intrauterine inflammation. CONCLUSION: An eosinophilic gradient toward the amniotic cavity, present in nearly a fifth of cases of preterm delivery, is probably of fetal origin, making it unlikely that a maternal "allergy-like" mechanism is a cause of preterm delivery.     

Hypophosphatasia: a developmental anomaly of alkaline phosphatase?

This report deals with quantitative and qualitative investigations of alkaline phosphatase in two unrelated infants with the severe infantile form of hypophosphatasia. Both affected infants had no detectable leukocyte alkaline phosphatase activities and both sets of parents and one sibling tended to have low but variable leukocyte enzyme activities. Normal duodenal juice alkaline phosphatase activity was present in the one patient in whom it was measured and a wide range of variation in enzymic activity was observed in the stools. There was no significant difference in the stool enzyme activity between both patients with hypophosphatasia (42.01 +/- 9.77 U) and control infants (40.55 +/- 6.29 U). However, the heterozygous parents had values significantly lower than the control adults (2.10 +/- 0.47 as compared with 19.10 +/- 4.44 U). Intestinal bacteria did not contribute significantly to the stool alkaline phosphatase activity. Enzyme activity was present in the bile of one of the patients and nearly absent in that of the other. Three "inducers" of alkaline phosphatase were given to both patients (phenobarbital, vitamin A, and corticosteroid). No clinical improvement or rise in serum alkaline phosphatase activity was observed during the trial of therapy with these agents. However, a significant increase in the activity of serum acid phosphatase was demonstrated during the course of vitamin A administration, suggesting an in vivo action of vitamin A on the lysosomes through decreasing the stability of the membrane and releasing acid phosphatase to the serum. Quantitative determination of tissue alkaline phosphatases from autopsy tissues was highly variable: no activity was found in bone, lungs, or spleen of either infant; there was a discrepancy in liver and kidney alkaline phosphatase values (zero in one patient and present in the other) and activity was present in the intestinal mucosa of both. Qualitative analysis of kidney, liver, and intestinal alkaline phosphatase revealed some differences between the patients and control subjects in heat inactivation and phenylalanine inhibition (Table 3). Starch gel electrophoresis of the liver preparation of one patient disclosed a single band which had greater mobility than that of six control subjects matched for age. Liver extracts from a premature and from full term newborns showed two bands. The single band of the patient's liver enzyme corresponded to the newborn's fast moving component. In addition, the intestinal enzyme prepared from the same patient had an extra band when compared with age-matched control subjects.     

The source of execution-related dual-task interference: Motor bottleneck or response monitoring?

The present study assessed the underlying mechanism of execution-related dual-task interference in the psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm. The motor bottleneck hypothesis attributes this interference to a processing limitation at the motor level. By contrast, the response monitoring hypothesis attributes it to a bottleneck process that not only selects the appropriate response but also monitors its execution. In two experiments, participants performed ballistic movements of different distances in Task 1 and a choice reaction time task in Task 2. In each experiment, a propagation effect of movement distance on reaction time in Task 2 indicated substantial execution-related interference. To determine the locus of this effect, we manipulated stimulus-response compatibility in Task 2. In line with the motor bottleneck hypothesis, the compatibility effect was partially absorbed during movement execution of Task 1. The results support a motor bottleneck mechanism rather than response monitoring as the source of execution-related dual-task interference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Access to health information and support: a public highway or a private road?

Information and communication technologies may help reduce health disparities through their potential for promoting health, preventing disease, and supporting clinical care for all. Unfortunately, those who have preventable health problems and lack health insurance coverage are the least likely to have access to such technologies. Barriers to access include cost, geographic location, illiteracy, disability, and factors related to the capacity of people to use these technologies appropriately and effectively. A goal of universal access to health information and support is proposed to augment existing initiatives to improve the health of individuals and the public. Both public- and private-sector stakeholders, particularly government agencies and private corporations, will need to collaboratively reduce the gap between the health information "haves" and "have-nots." This will include supporting health information technology access in homes and public places, developing applications for the growing diversity of users, funding research on access-related issues, ensuring the quality of health information and support, enhancing literacy in health and technology, training health information intermediaries, and integrating the concept of universal access to health information and support into health planning processes.     

Predictive tests of radiocurability: towards a custom-made radiotherapy?

Up to now, radiation oncologists had at their disposal only a number of well-known histological and clinical factors in order to define the optimal dose which should be delivered to a given tumor. Recently, radibiological studies have suggested additional parameters which may play a major role in tumor radiocurability. These parameters are: the number of clonogenic cells, intrinsic radiosensitivity, hypoxia and proliferation kinetics. "Predictive" tests are being developed and evaluated for each of these parameters. The more advanced studies deal with intrinsic radiosensitivity; preliminary data show impressive variations in radiosensitivity within groups of clinically "homogeneous" tumors. Should these tests prove to be reliably predictive of radiocurability, it will be possible, in the near future, to propose to any given patient a "custom-made radiotherapy" adapted to the precise features of his or her tumor.     

Perfectionism as a predictor of subsequent adjustment: Evidence for a specific diathesis–stress mechanism among college students.

The relations among perfectionism, stress, subsequent psychological symptoms, and hopelessness were examined among 215 college students. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to determine whether dimensions of perfectionism (P. Hewitt & G. Flett, 1991) predicted psychological symptoms and hopelessness (1 month later), and the extent to which stress scores added incremental validity to these predictions. Results indicated that socially prescribed perfectionism was a significant predictor of both adjustment measures. In addition, stress accounted for a significant amount of additional variance in predicting adjustment beyond perfectionism. Consistent with a diathesis–stress model, a significant Perfectionism × Stress interaction was found in predicting scores on adjustment measures beyond perfectionism and stress. However, this interaction was only found for socially prescribed perfectionism. Results provide support for a specific diathesis–stress mechanism and important implications for developing specific interventions in working with perfectionistic college students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gestational exposure to chlorpyrifos: apparent protection of the fetus?

Advances in endoscopic instrumentation and techniques offer new alternatives for safe and effective treatment of urethral strictures. Visual internal urethrotomy, the standard treatment modality, is associated with new scar formation with stricture recurrence. This experience has led to the investigation of alternative techniques which would avoid or ameliorate this result. This article reviews the current literature and discusses these newer approaches, including balloon dilatation, laser urethrotomy, endoscopic urethroplasty, "cut to the light" and "core through" procedures, and urethral wallstent implantation.     

The critical resolved shear stress of a superalloy as a combination of those of its γ matrix and γ′ precipitates

The critical resolved shear stress (CRSS), τ ₀, of peak-aged single crystals of the γ′-hardened commercial nickel-base superalloy NIMONIC 105 has been measured as a function of temperature T and orientation [hkl] of the compression axis. The same measurements have been carried out for the two constituent phases of NIMONIC 105: for the single-phase γ matrix and for the single-phase L1₂-long-range ordered γ′ phase. The value of T ranged from 283 to 1150 K, and the following orientations were studied: [001], [011], , and . The specimens were compression tested. The τ ₀ values of NIMONIC 105 and of the γ′ phase are anisotropic; the anisotropy of NIMONIC 105 is similar to that of the γ′ phase, but less pronounced. The τ ₀ of the γ phase is isotropic. The τ ₀ values of the γ and of the γ′ phase vary with T, whereas the τ ₀ of NIMONIC 105 is nearly independent of T for 400 K≤T≤1000 K. A model is presented that relates the function τ ₀ ([h, k, l], T) of NIMONIC 105 to the analogous functions of its constituent γ and γ′ phase.     

Children's shoe: a miniature version of the adult shoe?

The question arising from this subject, could be answered with "Yes" and "No", since this issue is interpreted differently by footwear manufacturers. During the last 10 years the scientists have achieved essential knowledge concerning the requested standards of children's footwear. These results verify that children's footwear needs to have other characteristical features than adult's footwear. The requested standards on a healthy children's shoe result from the exceptional function (intensity and many-sided motor activity) and the anatomy (elasticity, shape and state) of a child's foot, which is, in contrast to an adult's foot, still developing. Due to these facts there are special requirements and features regarding the fitting, the flexibility and the information. This is explained on some examples.     

Discovery of a human hand?

We report on an unusual bone finding in the northeast of Germany. The "human hand of a child" was identified as the left foot of a baboon.     

Maquiladoras and women on the US-Mexican border: a benefit or a detriment to occupational health?

This article examines the impact of work conditions on the health of women working in assembly plants known as "maquiladoras". A sample of 480 women residing in Tijuana and with similar low socioeconomic conditions was studied. The sample included 120 electronics workers, 120 textile workers, 120 service workers and 120 women with no history of labor-force participation. These groups were compared on physical and psychosocial health outcomes, including depression, nervousness, functional impediments and sense of control over life. Data were obtained from interviews conducted in the communities where workers reside. Although high levels of depression and a low sense of control over life was observed, maquiladora workers--particularly in the electronics industry--suffered less functional impediments and nervousness than service workers. However, maquiladora workers were at higher risk of delivering infants of low birthweight.