bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Osteoporosis at Autopsy: Mechanical Methods Compared to Radiological and Histological Techniques
Authors: Wilkinson J M , Cotton D W K , Harris S C , Patterson E A
Published: July 2017

Osteoporosis is a common problem in the elderly female population and pathological fractures are a frequent complication, but how should the pathologist assess the severity of the disease at autopsy?

In this study we have compared subjective, semi-quantitative assessments of rib fracturability, vertebral compressibility, Singh index and histomorphometric methods against a ‘gold standard’ assessment, namely the force required to fracture the femoral neck.

We have shown good correlations between rib fracturability, Singh index and the standard chosen. Poor correlation was shown between histomorphometric techniques and the standard.

Our findings suggest that gross rib fracturability is a good indicator of osteoporosis in as far as bone fragility is an indicator of the severity of osteoporosis.

However as the population under examination was small, further studies in this area are clearly warranted in order to extend these findings.
Dangerous People or Dangerous Situations? — Some Further Thoughts
Authors: Prins Herschel
Published: July 2017

The author enlarges upon and develops some observations upon the assessment of dangerousness which appeared in this journal a decade ago. In the present contribution, particular attention is paid to identifying the type of person at risk of committing further acts of serious personal harm to persons and or property and to the factors or circumstances that may be conducive to this. Finally, the author puts forward some views on why cues and clues may be missed and how these omissions might be overcome.

‘Between the acting of a dreadful thing And the first motion, all the interim is Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream’

Julius Caesar, Act II Scene 1.
Sleepwalking and Indecent Exposure
Authors: Buchanan Alec
Published: July 2017

The case is described of a naked sleepwalker who was convicted of indecent exposure. The literature relating to sleepwalking and indecent exposure is briefly reviewed and the legal position discussed.

Sleepwalkers are seldom convicted of crimes which they commit while asleep. In recent years a successful defence has usually been mounted on the basis that sleepwalking is, in legal terms, an automatism. Occasionally, however, sleepwalkers are convicted and this report illustrates one such case.
Criminal Responsibility and Mental Disorder in Britain and North America: A Comparative Study
Authors: Green Christopher M. , Naismith Laurence J. , Menzies Robin D.
Published: July 2017

The relationship between criminal responsibility and mental disorder is traced and described in England, Scotland, Canada and the United States of America. In Britain the Mental Health Acts have now made argument over criminal responsibility and mental disorder largely obsolete, also bringing an increased medical influence to the dispositions, by the Courts, of mentally disordered offenders. In North America the question of the criminal responsibility of a mentally disordered accused remains an essential cornerstone in the equitable management of such individuals by the legal system. This article explores some of the problems encountered in the differing approaches.
Unfit to Plead to Murder: Three Case Reports
Authors: Wood Peter J W , Guly Olivia C R
Published: July 2017

Three cases are reported, two of alleged murder and one of alleged manslaughter, where the defendant was found ‘under disability in relation to trial’.

In each there was reason to doubt the fairness, from the psychiatric point of view, of this decision. These cases illustrate the need to adopt the recommendations of the Butler Report (HMSO, 1975) that in every case where the defendant is found to be ‘under disability’ there should be a trial of the facts and that the court should have wider powers of disposal in such cases.
Immunohistochemical Localization of Paraquat in Lung and Brain
Authors: Nagao M , Takatori T , Wu B , Terazawa K , Gotouda H , Akabane H , Inoue K , Shimizu M
Published: July 2017

In order to observe the localization and dynamics of paraquat in lung and brain, immunohistochemical approaches were conducted by using animals. Experimental paraquat-poisoned rats were sacrificed 3 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 3 days, 7 days and 10 days after intravenous administration of paraquat (5 mg/kg). In lung tissues, paraquat was localized in histiocytes, walls of blood vessels and bronchiolar epithelial cells from 3 hours to 10 days after the paraquat exposure, and interstitial pulmonary fibrosis was being developed with time. On the other hand, in brain tissues, paraquat was localized only in capillary walls and glial cells but not observed in nerve cells 10 days after the administration of paraquat.
Age Determination of the Molars
Authors: Hongwei Song , Jingtao Jia , Cameron J. M.
Published: July 2017

It has generally been acknowledged that the estimation of age may have a particular medico-legal significance, and that dental methods can be exceptionally useful (Cameron and Sims, 1973; Song and Jia, 1986a). The authors have studied the method for age estimation by using the theory of quantification (Type 1) and multiple stepwise regression analysis (Song and Jia, 1987, 1989). It is not uncommon in the practice of forensic medicine to find instances in which some teeth are missing, thereby adding to the difficulties in age estimation. Thus alternative techniques have to be used. This paper discusses a method of age estimation using only the molars in 495 females living in the Liaoning Province of the People's Republic of China.
Assessing Death by Poisoning: Does the Medical History Help?
Authors: Harding-Pink Deborah , Fryc Oldrich
Published: July 2017

During one year we sought medical historical data for all medico-legal autopsies with toxicological analysis (n=51); the same procedure was applied to a control group of autopsies without toxicological analysis. Historical data was available in 70 cases (69%), the proportion being significantly higher among cases where the cause of death was poisoning (84%) than in the non-poisoning cases (48%). In the poisoning cases information was more often available from the emergency service, the psychiatric service and the prison medical service. Autopsy observations revealed a higher proportion of prior pathology than the medical history. But in a minority of cases, potentially significant prior illnesses were shown by the medical history and not at the autopsy (for example, in cases of advanced decomposition and in cases with no pathological lesions: idiopathic epilepsy; HIV infection).

Historical data was judged to make some contribution to the conclusions concerning the cause of death in 71% of the cases of poisoning. The most important single contribution was the assessment of dependence status among drug or alcohol abusing subjects.
Gunshot Suicides in Victoria, Australia, 1988
Authors: Selway Richard
Published: July 2017

A study of the 96 gunshot suicides in Victoria, Australia, in 1988 is presented. Only three of the cases were women, all of whom had a psychiatric history. The suicides were commonly associated with physical or mental ill health, the break up of relationships or contact with police. There was often a history of alcohol related problems and 31% showed evidence of drinking before suicide. The suicides tended to occur without witnesses (90%), at home (73%), often in the bedroom (32%). Handguns were used much less commonly than in other countries, although the distribution of entry wounds was similar. The change of gun ownership laws which occurred in 1988 may be expected to alter the incidence of gunshot suicide in future years.
Medical Evaluation of Young Sexual Abuse Victims: A View Entering the 1990s
Authors: Reinhart Michael A.
Published: July 2017

This paper reviews current knowledge of medical evaluations of young victims of alleged sexual abuse. The several purposes and the value of these examinations are discussed. The evaluation of physical findings is reviewed with emphasis on recent progress in improving the reliability and validity of such examinations. The complexities of the identification and interpretation of sexually transmitted diseases are reviewed. Areas in which additional progress is expected in the 1990s are identified.
The Bournewood Judgment: A Way Forward?
Authors: Dickenson Donna , Shah Ajit
Published: July 2017

In this article we provide a commentary on the various reasonings behind the Law Lords' unanimous judgements in their recent decision (25 June 1998) in Regina v. Bournewood Community and Mental Health NHS Trust, Ex parte L. After summarizing the judgment and commenting on its important implications, we suggest a way forward. The 1995 Law Commission incapacity proposals, on which the 1997 consultation paper Who Decides? was based, do afford a mechanism which could resolve much of the practical difficulty which practitioners feared from the Appeal Court decision, whilst at the same time affording the sorts of rights which the House of Lords decision denies.
Discrepancies between Clinical and Post-Mortem Diagnoses of Causes of Death
Authors: Ermenc Branko
Published: July 2017

Medical institutions unjustifiably ‘walk in a fog of misplaced optimism’, convinced of the accuracy of clinical diagnosis. They disregard the fact that the latest diagnostic research has not reduced the frequency of diagnostic inaccuracy.

We reviewed the autopsy records from the archive of the Institute of Forensic Medicine of 921 deceased persons in 1997 and compared the clinical with the post-mortem diagnoses. Group 1 included cases of complete agreement between the clinical and post-mortem diagnoses, Group 2 cases of partial disagreement about the direct cause of death, Group 3 cases of disagreement about the basic illness, Group 4 cases of total disagreement between the clinical diagnosis and the postmortem. Group 5 included cases of improper filling out of documentation according to the ABC international classification of diseases, injuries and causes of death, which has been accepted by the World Health Organisation in 10 revisions to date (WHO, 1992).

The diagnoses were in total agreement in 48.87% of the cases, in partial agreement (disagreement about the direct cause of death) in 22.74%, and in disagreement about the basic illness in 13.5%. Of the cases, 9.68% were classified into Group 5.
Retrospective Analysis of the Forensic Autopsy Cases of Psychiatric Patients
Authors: Hitosugi Masahito
Published: July 2017

This paper describes a retrospective analysis dealing with the sudden natural or unnatural death of psychiatric patients using actual autopsy findings, clinical information and demographic status. More than 70% of the 141 patients had schizophrenia, mood disorders or substance-related disorders. Accidental deaths were the most common (34.8%) and followed by natural deaths (28.4%), suicide (22.7%) and homicide (9.2%). Nearly half of mentally retarded patients died natural deaths, whereas two-thirds of patients with substance-related disorders died accidental deaths and about one-third of patients with schizophrenia and mood disorders committed suicide. Furthermore, patients with substance-related disorders were significantly more likely to live alone than were patients with schizophrenia or mood disorders. Twenty-five cases died in hospitals or other healthcare facilities; it is noteworthy that in the 12 patients who died natural deaths the reported symptoms had been less severe than might be expected and correct clinical diagnosis was not made before death. The present findings should be useful for both forensic pathologists and clinical psychologists.
A Cost Analysis of Untoward Incidents in a Medium Secure Unit
Authors: MacPhail Sandra , Beck-Sander Alison
Published: July 2017

All untoward incidents perpetrated by 36 patients — residents in a medium-secure hospital — over a period of six months were examined using a prospective design. Demographic and psychiatric details of patients involved in incidents were compared with those of patients not involved in incidents. Financial costs associated with incidents were calculated.

A minority of patients were found to be responsible for the majority of incidents. Patients detained under criminal sections of the Mental Health Act 1983 were involved in disproportionately more incidents than their civil section counterparts. The female patients involved in untoward incidents all had a diagnosis of personality disorder and were over-represented in the number of incidents. However, most of the financial burden of untoward incidents was incurred by those incidents perpetrated by male patients. Likewise, although patients detained under the legal category of psychopathic disorder were involved in a higher number of incidents, higher costs were associated with incidents perpetrated by patients detained under the category of mental illness.
A Study of Patients Identified as Unmanageable Prior to Admission to an Independent Medium-Secure Hospital
Authors: Moss Katrina R.
Published: July 2017

A previous study of patient admissions to an independent medium-secure psychiatric hospital by Moss, Green and Naismith (1996) suggested an increased flexibility in the admission of patients identified as having ‘exceptional management problems.’ In particular this was found to relate to a cohort of 59 patients admitted after having been identified as ‘unmanageable’ in their parent district. This appeared to provide the impetus, for a number of reasons, for their subsequent referral to the private sector.

This study examines the characteristics of these patients, and discusses how the independent sector may be providing a service either unavailable within the National Health Service or for which the National Health Service is unsuitable, in terms of patients either requiring medium- to long-term hospital care in conditions of security, or those who cannot live independently and therefore require ‘asylum’ (which is no longer available within the National Health Service). In this sense the independent sector could be seen as meeting a national need by acting as a ‘safety valve’ for National Health Service psychiatric facilities.
A Study to Investigate the Ability of Subjects with Chronic Lung Diseases to Activate the Roadside Lion Alcolmeter® SL-400
Authors: Honeybourne D , Moore A J , Butterfield K , Azzan L
Published: July 2017

The Lion Alcolmeter® SL-2 is widely used for road-side breath-testing by police in the UK. However, some individuals with lung diseases have difficulty in activating the device. This study describes an investigation that we have carried out on a new device called the Lion Alcolmeter® SL-400 which has recently been introduced into use by police forces in the UK. The manufacturers state that the machine requires a minimum continuous expiratory flow rate of 25 litres per minute and a mini-mum expired volume of 1.5 litres, after which a breath sample is automatically taken and analysed.

Our study was designed to investigate the ability of subjects with a variety of lung diseases to activate this device. The 40 adult subjects investigated consisted of 10 normal controls, 10 with asthma, 10 with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 10 with restrictive lung disease.

After baseline lung function tests were performed, the subjects were then given alcohol to drink, the amount of which was based upon their body weight. After a gap of at least 20 minutes, the subjects were then asked to attempt up to three blows into the Alcolmeter.

Our results showed that three asthmatic subjects, four with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and two with restrictive lung disease, failed to successfully activate the device even after three attempts. All of the subjects who failed to activate the device had an expired breath volume of more than 1.5 litres, but seven out of these nine subjects had a Forced Expiratory Volume (FEV1) of less than 1.1 litres.

In conclusion, this study has shown that some subjects with lung diseases may have difficulty in activating the SL-400 roadside alcolmeter device.
Accidental Hanging with Delayed Death in a Lift
Authors: Verma S K , Agarwal B B L
Published: July 2017

While hanging is a common method of committing suicide in India, accidental hanging is uncommon. However, it does occur when people are engaged in auto-erotic practices. An adult male who was helping passengers trapped in the lift of an outpatient department at a teaching hospital was accidentally hanged. He survived for 39 days. This case highlights a rare but serious hazard in the use of lifts.
Heart Disease vis-à-vis Trauma
Authors: Vij K.
Published: July 2017

Virtually all forensic experts deal not only with criminal, suspicious, accidental and suicidal deaths, but are also confronted with a wide range of deaths where a significant natural element is revealed at autopsy. The assaulted victim that dies suddenly or unexpectedly from a stroke during or immediately succeeding the receipt of some nonfatal injuries, or otherwise suffers a clinically unexplained death, can pose far greater difficulties over causation than a gun-shot or a stabbing. This paper presents an analysis of the problem and an approach for determining the cause of death in cases of concurrent trauma with heart disease, and in cases with a substantial natural element of disease but exclusion of trauma. Relevant cases with history, autopsy findings, histopathological findings and toxicological findings are presented in order to illustrate the issue from a practical angle.
Suicide by Drowning in the Bath
Authors: Nowers M. P.
Published: July 2017

A series of 14 cases of suicide by drowning in the bath in the Bristol area, England between 1974 and 1996 is presented. There were six males and eight females with a mean age of 66 years. The majority were married and lived with their spouse or another relative. Most drowned at home, face down, fully clothed. Six cases had evidence of concomitant alcohol or substance use. Seven cases had a past psychiatric history and a history of previous deliberate self-harm. Issues concerning prevention are discussed.
Homicidal Poisoning with Glibenclamide
Authors: Fernando Ravindra
Published: July 2017

Homicidal poisoning is rare in Sri Lanka although suicidal poisoning, especially with pesticides, is a grave health problem. Clinical and medicolegal findings and the subsequent court proceedings of two cases of homicide due to induced hypoglycaemia with an anti-diabetic drug are presented. The drug used was glibenclamide. Findings emphasize the importance of toxicological analysis and extensive police investigations when the clinical diagnosis and the cause of death are in doubt.
Legal Implications of the Use of Vaccines
Authors: O'Brien Michael
Published: July 2017

The legal implications of the use of vaccines to promote individual and group immunity constitute a complex pattern of common and statute law interwoven with the ethical code governing medical practice.

In the circumstances under discussion, teaching the theory and practice of vaccination to medical students, several roles have to be considered. Firstly there is the recipient, a baby or schoolchild, both with the oversight of a parent or guardian. In some circumstances the recipient may be an adult. Secondly, there is the person advising upon, and administering the vaccine — either the student or the doctor. Lastly, the Authority in whose premises the teaching and vaccination take place plays a significant role.

In the wings, waiting to be cued to activity by misfortune, the General Medical Council, the Health Service Commissioner, the Health and Safety Executive, lawyers and community health councillors play a passive, but everpresent role.
Fixfree and Genhdr: Two Turbo Pascal Programs to Transform Comma-Delimited Free ASCII Format Files into Fixed Format ASCII Files and Vice Versa
Authors: Tenvergert Elisabeth , Kingma Johannes , Klasen Henk J.
Published: July 2017

The interchange between different database management systems and statistical packages may be hampered by different formats for data structure. The programs FIXFREE and GENHDR convert database files into different formats: ASCII fixed format to comma-delimited free ASCII format and vice versa. The programs may be used either as stand alone programs or as procedures within a database management system. The programs also contain a procedure to import comma-delimited free ASCII formatted files into database management systems, e.g., DBase III, DBase IV, or the different versions of FOXPRO. The programs are written in TURBO PASCAL (Version 6.0).
Can we Judge the Strength of a Drink?
Authors: Standing Lionel , Blackburn Annie
Published: July 2017

Using the method of direct magnitude estimation, ten subjects each judged by taste the strength of ten rum/water mixtures; these ranged from 10% to 100% rum. Mean judgements of the concentration of rum were highly accurate ( r = .99) and showed no tendency towards underestimation or overestimation at any concentration.
Simulations of Stuttered Speech: Numbers and Types of Dysfluencies
Authors: Leach Edwin A. , Wolfolk William B. , Fucci Donald , Gonzales Maria Diana
Published: July 2017

The purpose of this study was to assess whether stuttered speech could be simulated by normal-speaking individuals and to identify significant parameters used in the simulation process. The subjects were 24 normal-speaking graduate students in speech-language pathology. The subjects were assigned the task of simulating stuttered speech given specific levels of severity. Then they were asked to listen to the simulated samples and identify the number and types of dysfluencies presented. Analysis showed agreement among subjects on the number of dysfluencies, with the exception of samples simulating severe stuttering behavior. Judging the number of dysfluencies in the simulated samples of severe stuttering appeared to be a more difficult task. The types of dysfluencies noted by the listeners were restricted primarily to repetitions and prolongations. Simulated stuttered speech was therefore judged to be composed of fewer types of stuttering behavior than actual stuttered speech is reported to be.
A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Wais-R Aging Patterns with Psychiatric Inpatients: Support for Horn's Hypothesis that Fluid Cognitive Abilities Decline ,
Authors: Boone Daniel E.
Published: July 2017

WAIS–R aging patterns were examined for a group of 200 psychiatric inpatients. Inpatients were grouped into six age categories: less than 24, 24–28, 29–32, 33–38, 39–43, and greater than 43 years. Verbal and Performance sums of scaled score, subtest scaled score, and raw score total, and individual item score means were examined for each age category. The classical aging pattern was observed wherein more crystallized cognitive abilities remained stable over age groups of the life span while more fluid abilities dropped sharply with their increasing ages. Results supported the decline in fluid cognitive abilities hypothesis for WAIS–R aging patterns advocated by Horn in 1985 and Kaufman in 1990.
From Behavioral Chronobiology to Chronopsychology with Special Reference to Circadian Fluctuations of Emotionality,
Authors: Poirel Christian
Published: July 2017

Additional chronobiologic observations of basic emotional reactivity over a 24-hr. span suggest that the psychological function involved could respond to circadian processes.
Simple Indicators of Physical Working Capacity
Authors: Hassmén Peter
Published: July 2017

Traditional methods used to estimate an individual's physical working capacity have at least one disadvantage in common, namely, the demand for expensive equipment such as cycle ergometers or treadmills. Consequently, the search for suitable tests performed in the field has been extensive. Most field tests do, however, require a maximal performance from the subject. The present investigation compared two special field rests, walking and running, both of a submaximal character, with (a) a treadmill run test and (b) a standardized cycle ergometer test. The comparisons were made to judge whether these field tests have the potential to replace or complement laboratory tests in certain situations, for example, when the purpose is to monitor training progress over time. Correlations were generally high and statistically significant within as well as between tests. Higher values were observed between field running and the laboratory tests than with field walking. This was true especially for the higher reference levels. Despite this, field walking may still be the best alternative for elderly persons or subjects recovering from injury, since the results indicate that walking, when performed intensely enough, gives a fairly good estimate of an individual's physical working capacity.
Bibliographical Note on Behavioral Aspects: On the Margin of the 50th Anniversary of the Minnesota Starvation-Nutritional Rehabilitation Experiment
Authors: Brožek Josef
Published: July 2017

The principal technical aim of this note is to bring together bibliographic information on the papers dealing with the behavioral aspects of the study and published both before and, in particular, after the appearance in print of the two-volume treatise on The Biology of Human Starvation by Keys, et al. in 1950, which provides a systematic, comprehensive account. The communications fall into three categories: methods, results, and overviews. The section on results is concerned primarily with the effects on personality.
Development and Validation of a Self-Confidence Scale
Authors: Garant Vivianne , Charest Caroline , Alain Michel , Thomassin Lyne
Published: July 2017

Even though self-confidence is a popular concept both in everyday life and in psychology, no individual difference measure is available. The purpose of this study was to construct and validate an 18-item self-confidence scale. A sample of 191 white undergraduate students from Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (44 men and 147 women) participated. An exploratory factor analysis indicated two distinct factors; one measured a general cognitive aspect of self-confidence and a second evaluated a more specific self-confidence in one's abilities and opinions. Internal consistency (Cronbach α) was .84. Intercorrelations with other related measures (.23 to .69) were significant and in the expected direction. The new scale could be useful when a specific measure of self-confidence is required as an individual difference measure.
Chronic Pain is Associated with Deficits in Information Processing
Authors: Grigsby Jim , Rosenberg Neil L. , Busenbark David
Published: July 2017

Beginning with the theoretical premise that pain stimuli are liable to perturb the ordinary dynamical state of the brain, we hypothesized that individuals in pain may experience impaired information processing. A sample of 19 persons complaining of chronic pain and a comparison sample of 25 persons having sustained head trauma were obtained by retrospective chart review. The chronic-pain group consisted of 19 persons whose primary complaint was significant chronic pain, with no known history of head trauma or neurologic disorder. The comparison group consisted of 25 persons who had sustained mild to moderate head traumas. All subjects were administered information processing and motor subtests of the Human Performance Measurement System, a computerized set of measures. Both groups obtained mean z scores below the normative mean on all measures except visual digit span. There were no differences between groups on motor measures, visual digit span, and visual-spatial memory. On 2 of 6 information-processing tests, pain patients performed more poorly than head-trauma patients. The results suggest that pain may disrupt cognitive performances which depend on intact speed and capacity of information processing.
Stress Experienced While Travelling without Sight
Authors: Pfeiffer Karlheinz
Published: July 2017

The purpose of this study was to examine the stress reaction of pedestrians travelling without sight and the stress-reducing effect of a relaxation exercise immediately following travel. 16 students in special education volunteered for this experiment. They were blindfolded while travelling. A trait-state-anxiety questionnaire was administered. Analysis of variance indicated statistically significant effects. Travelling without sight increased state-anxiety as compared to trait-anxiety. With a simple relaxation technique, state-anxiety was reduced appreciably.
Deterioration of the High-Mounted Brake Light
Authors: Cameron David L.
Published: July 2017

An unusually high failure rate in the high-mounted, center brake light was observed in a survey of normal local traffic. Such failure increases the potential for delay or error in perception of the rear lights by following drivers.
Styles of Regulation in the Bipolar Spectrum
Authors: Rubino I. Alex , Dotti Andrea , Zanna Elisabetta Greco Valeria , Fieramonti Eugenio , Ciani Nicola
Published: July 2017

Styles of regulation were assessed with the Serial Color-Word Test in a group of 35 compensated DSM-III—R bipolar patients (Bipolar) and in 3 control groups: Major Depression ( n = 35), Schizophrenia ( n = 50), and self-rated Personality Disorder ( n = 40). On several measures of nonlinear change (V), patients in the Bipolar group had mean scores between those of the Personality Disorder and the Schizophrenic groups, and overlapped with those of the Major Depression group. Patients in the Bipolar group with clearcut temperaments (hyperthymic or depressive) were significantly more dissociative and less stabilized than other patients in the same group. A further group of nonclinical subjects with hyperthymic temperament ( n = 20) was significantly more dissociative than the Personality Disorder group.
Leisure Interests of German Workers: Gender Differences and Similarities
Authors: Kirkcaldy Bruce D. , Athanasou James A.
Published: July 2017

Amongst the more popular leisure choices of 60 adult German workers were swimming, bicycling, and cinema, activities of a social nature. Both sexes were least interested in high-contact, combative sports such as boxing and wrestling. Men tended to express more interest in the traditional sports (tennis, handball, table-tennis, and football), weapons (shooting and archery), and athletics (sprinting, jogging, and endurance running).
An Error in the Use of Translated Scales: The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale for Chinese
Authors: Cheng Sheung-Tak , Hamid P. Nicholas
Published: July 2017

Problems in syntax may occur when a scale is translated into another language. The psychometric property of the translated scale may be adversely affected when such problems occur. This article discusses this problem with reference to the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale.
Relationship between Heart Rate and Preference for Tempo of Music
Authors: Iwanaga Makoto
Published: July 2017

People prefer music with tempi ranging from 70 to 100 cycles per minute similar to that of adults’ heart rate within normal daily situations. Previous studies of the relation between preferred tempi and heart rates using a pure tone also have indicated that subjects tended to prefer tempi similar to their heart rates. The present study examined this relationship using a musical piece (the theme of “It's a small world”) as a stimulus. 14 undergraduate women were subjects who searched for their favorite tempi by controlling the musical tempo by themselves. The most preferred tempo was close to their cycle of heart beats, however, tempi that were one and a half and twice as fast as the heart rate were less preferred in the present study than in a previous study using a tone. Subjects preferred faster tempi in the descending series of stimuli than in the ascending one, and hence were influenced by the initial value of the tempo in the trial sequence. The effects due to the differences of the meaning of the stimuli are considered.
Frontal N30 Potential following a Sustained Voluntary Movement
Authors: Nishihira Y. , Araki H. , Funase K. , Imanaka K. , Hatta A.
Published: July 2017

With 6 male subjects we investigated whether the decreased amplitude in the frontal N30 potential of Somatosensory Evoked Potentials is related to a sustained voluntary movement or not. We concluded that the diminution of frontal N30 was also closely related to the sustained voluntary movement.
Assessment of Team Cohesion: A Russian Approach
Authors: Copeland Barry W. , Straub William F.
Published: July 2017

The CS-1/4, a computerized system for assessing cohesion and conflict, was designed by Kalinin and Nilopets for application with Russian Olympic team sports. The instrument combines Symbolic Interaction Theory with sociometry (Task I), assessment of behavior (Task II), and assessment of personality (Tasks III/IV) to examine the behavior of the group from several perspectives. An overview of the system is presented and its practical application for western research in sports is examined. A composite of team members’ ratings on all four tasks is analyzed through a computer algorithm. The analysis results in a 12-page printout of data pertaining to team leadership tendencies, role status, and compatibility and a summary of the team's dominating drives in terms of achievement, independence, and support characteristics. Suggestions for practical and scientific application with teams in western sports are mentioned.
Dialog Organization and Functional Communication in a Medical Assistance Task by Phone
Authors: Marchand Pascal , Navarro Claude
Published: July 2017

This study is based on a corpus of 110 dialogs recorded in a medical assistance telephonist's workstation. Given the nature of the task, we have considered five main variables in dialog (topics) as well as their order of occurrence (sequences). These data were analyzed with a lexical analysis program. Results show a great difference between Operator/Specialist dialog and Operator/Nonspecialist dialog. Dialog “script” is very strong in the first case in which the operator merely plays a feedback role (routine procedures). If the caller is a private individual, the situation is often an indefinite problem, and the operator may have to adapt to the person (weak script) to obtain relevant information as quickly as possible (problem-solving procedures). This provides confirmation of the operator's twofold competence (efficient decision-making, dialog management).
The Ecology of Alcohol Consumption
Authors: Lester David
Published: July 2017

An analysis of the ecological variation in alcohol consumption over the continental states of America in 1980 showed that alcohol was consumed more in states with higher scores on a measure of social disorganization.
Man's Triune Conscious Mind: Part III
Authors: Aurell Carl G.
Published: July 2017

The perceptual model, discussed previously in Part II, is applied to the organization of the visual cortex in a search for “consciousness neurons,” i.e., sources of sensations, images, and percepts. It is hypothesized that these three conscious phenomena emerge in the primary visual cortex, Area VI, possibly from neurons in its Layer 4.
Subordinates’ Satisfaction with Communication and Managers’ Relational Messages
Authors: Lamude Kevin G. , Daniels Tom D. , Smilowitz Michael
Published: July 2017

The paper concerns subordinates’ satisfaction with communication as a function of managers’ relational messages. 131 subordinates completed the Communication Satisfaction Scale and the Relational Message Scale. Ratings of immediacy, receptivity, composure, similarity, and equality messages were positively associated with satisfaction with communication. Ratings of messages conveying dominance, formality, and task orientation were negatively related to subordinates’ satisfaction with communication.
Factors Affecting the Impression of Vehicle Speed Gained from a Video Recording
Authors: Lines Stuart , Searle John
Published: July 2017

During court hearings arising from traffic accidents, videotaped recordings are often used to give a ‘drive through’ view of the accident scene. A panel of 24 subjects evaluated the impression of speed created by such recordings. Focal length of the camera lens has a marked effect.
Theoretical Extrapolations in “Temporal Delays in Incorporation of Events into Dreams”
Authors: Roll Samuel
Published: July 2017

In 1995 Powell, et al. presented fascinating information about the temporal vicissitudes in the incorporation of waking experiences into dream content. While they correctly pointed out the major methodological flaw in their study, they neglected major theoretical difficulties, especially in extrapolating to rat neural mechanisms.
Underestimation of Sensorimotor Task-Induced Blood-Pressure Changes by Posttask Sphygmomanometry
Authors: Kugler J. , Milau C. , Traska T. , Schmitz N. , Krüskemper G. M.
Published: July 2017

For assessment of cardiovascular effects of sensorimotor work, blood pressure is commonly measured by arm sphygmomanometry. A technique introduced by Penaz makes it feasible to monitor blood pressure noninvasively and continuously from the finger artery which measures give high correlations with intraarterial measurement. This study compared blood-pressure changes induced by a standard sensorimotor task using sphygmomanometry and the Penaz-method. It was investigated whether sphygmomanometrically recorded blood pressure can be used to estimate task-induced blood-pressure changes and whether inflating the cuff to different maximum pressures induces blood-pressure changes. 46 normotensive individuals were randomly assigned to the discomfort group (maximum arm-cuff pressure of 280 mmHg) or to the control group (maximum arm-cuff pressure of 160 mmHg). The experiment consisted of six tasks of 4 min. each. Results indicated that sphygmomanometries underestimated task-induced blood-pressure changes and that phasic systolic and diastolic blood-pressure elevations during the task were leveled off shortly after the end of the task. Effects of ‘cuff-inflation hypertension’ were not found. The Penaz-method appears to be more appropriate than sphygmomanometry if dynamic aspects of blood pressure are of interest.
Problems in Left-Right Discrimination in a High-Iq Population
Authors: Storfer Miles D.
Published: July 2017

The prevalence of difficulties in left-right discrimination was investigated in a group of 2,720 adult members of the high-IQ societies Mensa and Intertel. Over-all, 7.2% of the men and 18.8% of the women evaluated their left-right directional sense as poor or below average. Participants who were relatively ambidextrous experienced problems more frequently than did those who were more strongly left- or right-handed. Age differences were also evident, with participants age 17–29 reporting the highest rate of problems, and participants age 60 and over reporting markedly lower rates than those age 30–59. The observed patterns of gender differences were maintained within these age- and strength-of-handedness subdivisions. The basis for selecting the items that form the handedness inventory used is discussed.
Comparison of two Methods for Scoring Syntactic Complexity
Authors: Holdgrafer Gary
Published: July 2017

Summary scores for Developmental Sentence Scoring and the Index of Productive Syntax were obtained from the language samples of 29 preterm children at preschool age. A moderate correlation obtained between these two measures of syntactic complexity. Only Index of Productive Syntax scores distinguished the language abilities of 19 neurologically normal from 10 suspect children.
Stress, Coping, and Injuries in Male and Female High School Basketball Players
Authors: Rider Steven P. , Hicks Robert A.
Published: July 2017

Past research has identified a positive relationship between life-event stress and football injuries, but research in other sports has yielded more ambiguous results. It seems, then, that the relation of life stress and injury may be sport-specific and that different sports must be studied separately before such a relationship is assumed. The present investigation examined the relationships among life-event stress, coping skills, social support, and injuries of male and female high school basketball players. Contrary to the hypothesis, the number of days missed due to injury was not significantly related to life-event stress. As expected, the injury measure was negatively correlated with both the coping-skills and social-support variables, but these correlations did not reach statistical significance. Recommendations for research are discussed.
Listeners’ Reactions to Misarticulation: A Methodological Investigation
Authors: Small Larry H. , Burroughs Elizabeth I.
Published: July 2017

It has been shown that listeners react negatively to speakers with abnormal articulation. There is no evidence indicating whether the actual placement of the occurrence of a misarticulation in a passage influences listeners’ reactions. Subjects in this study heard a 98-word recording of a speaker feigning a misarticulation of /I/. One group of 20 subjects heard the misarticulation within the first five words of the recording. A second group heard the misarticulation within the last five words of the recording. All subjects rated the speaker on 13 bipolar scales, representing three dimensions of judgment. Findings indicate that the recorded samples were not rated differently. This placement of the token error did not influence subjects’ judgments of the speaker.
Relation between Reaction Time and the Phase of Spontaneous and Controlled Breathing Patterns
Authors: Kobashi Noriko , Sugiyama Yoshio
Published: July 2017

In this study simple reaction time (simple RT) to a visual stimulus of a single subject was measured during spontaneous and controlled breathing, in which the duration of expiration was prolonged (Asian technique). The phases of breathing were classified as the pause between expiration and inspiration, the inspiration phase, the transition from inspiration to expiration, and the expiration phase. Analysis of data from about 6000 trials indicated that RT to the stimulus was shortest during the transition from inspiration to expiration in controlled breathing.
Blue Questionnaires and Blue Mood
Authors: Herbst Amy , Lester David
Published: July 2017

The scores of 41 students on the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale were not affected by whether the questionnaire was printed on bright blue versus white paper.
A Preliminary Analysis of the Coordination of Reaching, Grasping, and Walking
Authors: Cockell Dawn L. , Carnahan Heather , Mcfadyen Bradford J.
Published: July 2017

The purpose of this investigation was to describe the strategies used by individuals when motor systems controlling locomotion and prehension must be used simultaneously to perform a task. Subjects were required to perform five tasks: walk normally, walk and pick up a small object, walk and pick up a large object, pick up a small object from a stationary standing position, and pick up a large object while standing. The grasping and walking movements were videotaped and the frequencies of various behaviors were observed (type of grasp, location of contact with the object, support leg during contact with the object, timing of gaze toward object). Characteristics of the grasp were influenced by object size, not by whether the subject was walking. Gaze was shifted to the object before initiation of reach and this pattern was not influenced by size of the object or movement of the subject. Finally, subjects preferred using an ipsilateral support leg while generating the reach, which is a deviation from normal gait patterns. Findings indicate that the motor control system may be hierarchically organized in such a way that stability of the lower limbs supersedes the control of the movement patterns of an upper limb.
Relationship between Adherence to Exercise and Scores on Extraversion and Neuroticism
Authors: Potgieter Justus R. , Venter Ranel E.
Published: July 2017

A sample of 116 subjects were classified as adherers or drop-outs on the basis of exercising at an on-campus exercise facility over 1 yr. Scores on the Eysenck Personality Inventory showed that adherers did not differ from drop-outs in scores on extraversion; however, drop-outs recorded significantly higher neuroticism scores than adherers.
Balance Deficits Accompanying Renal Disease are Related to Diabetic Status
Authors: Bohannon Richard W. , Smith James , Barnhard Robert
Published: July 2017

Balance deficits were examined in a sample of kidney-transplant candidates (60 men, 30 women) using an ordinal scale. Normal performance was defined as unilateral standing for more than 20 sec. Only 52% of the subjects balanced normally. A significant relationship between balance performance and diabetic status was found. Diabetic patients were more likely to show impaired balance. This finding is consistent with prior reports of gait and strength deficits among kidney-transplant candidates.
Spatial Concepts and Perception of Physical and Diagrammed Scenes
Authors: Bryant David J. , Lanca Margaret , Tversky Barbara
Published: July 2017

The accessibility of objects in mental spatial frameworks depends on their relation to the spatial axes of the world and people's typical interactions with space. The current study investigated perception of space. Subjects viewed either a physical model of a person surrounded by objects (Exp. 1) or diagrams of scenes (Exp. 2). Subjects named objects at directions from their own external perspective. For physical scenes, subjects were faster to name objects at Above/Below locations, followed by Front/Behind locations, followed by Left/Right locations. This finding indicates that subjects used spatial frameworks to locate objects perceptually. For diagrams, response times to name objects did not conform to this pattern, perhaps because the spatial axes of a diagram do not correspond to stable spatial axes of the world.
Anxiety in Elderly Hearing Impaired Persons
Authors: Andersson Gerhard , Green Malin
Published: July 2017

The association between experiences of hearing impairment and signs of anxiety in 42 elderly hearing impaired patients at a hearing aid centre was investigated. Subjects completed the Hearing Coping Assessment, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and an audiometric test of hearing. Analysis showed low scores on anxiety and hearing problems compared with other studies. Moreover, scores on anxiety did not correlate with pure tone thresholds for hearing but with self-reported hearing problems ( r = .31). Anxiety is important, but it is possible that signs of depression are more strongly related to self-perceived hearing handicap.
Depressed Men's Lower Ability to Interpret Nonverbal Cues: A Preliminary Study
Authors: Giannini A. James , Folts David J. , Melemis Steven M. , Giannini Matthew C. , Loiselle Robert H.
Published: July 2017

The ability to interpret nonverbal facial cues was tested with 20 depressed males prior to treatment. Each subject and matched control was asked to interpret videotaped facial cues of individuals engaged in a gambling task. Interpretive ability was significantly lower for the nontreated depressed white men than for their matched controls.
Performance Study Involving a Force-Reflecting Joystick for Spastic Individuals Performing two Types of Tracking Tasks
Authors: Repperger D. W. , Phillips C. A. , Chelette T. L.
Published: July 2017

10 upper-extremity spastic subjects and 10 normal subjects were studied with a force-reflecting joystick in the performance of a continuous time-tracking task as well as an acquisition task termed, “Fitts’ Law.” Certain force-reflection paradigms, in a spatial sense, allowed the spastic subjects to obtain performance proficiency near levels of the normal subjects as measured by a capacity metric.