bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Methylphenidate in a Patient with Depression and Respiratory Insufficiency
Authors: Ayache Danusa Céspedes Guizzo , Júnior Renério Fráguas
Published: May 2005

Objective:

We report a case of severe depression in an elderly and critically ill patient with multiple medical complications who was treated with a combination of methylphenidate and sertraline. The objective of this report is to outline the usefulness of methylphenidate as an antidepressant in a patient with respiratory insufficiency.

Method:

Case description.

Results:

The patient had a positive clinical response with initial mental confusion due to methylphenidate. An initial dose of 2.5 mg/day allowed antidepressant response and improvement of respiratory function permitting the removal of mechanical ventilation.

Conclusion:

Methylphenidate may be useful for patients with severe medical conditions including ventilatory insufficiency.
Grieving the Loss of Romantic Relationships in Young Adults: An Empirical Study of Disenfranchised Grief
Authors: Robak Rostyslaw W. , Weitzman Steven P.
Published: May 2005

Grief following lost romantic relationships during early adulthood has been identified as a form of disenfranchised grief. The present study examined several variables associated with the grieving process. College students (126) between the ages of eighteen and twenty-eight were asked to respond to a questionnaire and to complete the Loss version of the Grief Experience Inventory (GEI). Results of these surveys indicate that such grief is disenfranchised by family members (parents and siblings) but not by friends. Such grief experiences, as measured by the GEI, appear to be very similar to those following loss through death. Gender differences were not found, with the exception of three areas which have been substantially identified in previous research: as part of the grief experience, women reported greater feelings of loss of control, death anxiety, and less denial than did men. What factor(s) would lead young adults to seek counseling following such losses? No personality characteristics were able to predict this. The only variable to predict the seeking of counseling was a greater length of time spent in grief (11.9 months for those who sought counseling vs. 6.4 months for those who did not).
Radicalization of Urban Education via Improved Educational Technology Systems
Authors: McBrayer John
Published: May 2005

There is an apparent need for reform of urban education. Educational technology systems based on the accumulated knowledge on the changing conditions in modern society, as well as, knowledge of the new educational needs that the changes produce has led to new solutions for facilitating the achievement of desired urban schooling outcomes. Recent urban schooling reform efforts, however, have made it clear that simple piecemeal “change” applications of the improved technology systems is not enough for lasting urban education improvement. What is actually needed is total radicalization of urban education. Radicalization of urban education refers to radical overhaul of organizational structures, processes, and products of the key contributing participants in the urban school setting. Radicalization can be accomplished by applying recently developed educational technology throughout the whole urban school system. Simply stated, urban educators throughout urban school systems must be made to use every available device, design and system which makes the student's day as profitable as possible if reform of urban education is to succeed.
Nortriptyline Plasma Levels and Clinical Response in Patients with Familial Pure Unipolar Depression and Blunted TRH Tests
Authors: Gold Mark S. , Pottash A. L. C. , Stoll Andrew , Martin David M. , Finn Lawrence B. , Extein Irl
Published: May 2005

We studied the efficacy of nortriptyline (NT) when given in doses which produce tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) levels within the proposed therapeutic “window” in a select patient group to assess the “window” hypothesis in a group of patients that was biologically homogeneous with respect to the TRH test and clinically homogeneous with respect to RDC, DSM III, and Winokur criteria. Pharmacokinetic and dose differences were controlled for by administering a NT dose-prediction test, giving the indicated dose, allowing levels to reach steady state and changing the dose, if necessary, to maintain NT levels within the range of 90–130 ng/ml. Using this protocol nine of ten patients responded to NT. This rate of response for a severely depressed patient group is comparable to response data for ECT and recent European data using regular NT levels to change doses of NT and assess appropriate NT trial duration.
Computer-Supported Intentional Learning Environments
Authors: Scardamalia Marlene , Bereiter Carl , McLean Robert S. , Swallow Jonathan , Woodruff Earl
Published: May 2005

CSILE, which stands for Computer-Supported Intentional Learning Environments, is an educational knowledge media system. CSILE allows information in several media (text, drawings, graphs, timelines, etc.) to be entered into a common database where it is available to be retrieved, linked, commented on, rated, and so forth. The environments and operations of CSILE are designed to support students in more purposeful and mature, or intentional, processing of information. In this article eleven principles, based on recent cognitive research, are suggested for designing computer environments that support intentional learning. These principles include making knowledge-construction activities overt, maintaining attention to learning goals as opposed to other goals of an activity, providing process-relevant feedback, and giving students responsibility for contributing to each other's learning. Applications of these principles in CSILE are described, as well as observations from the first year of school try-out.
Continuing Evaluation and Research Needs in National Family Planning Promotion: PLUS ÇA CHANGE, PLUS C'EST LA MÊME CHOSE
Authors: Cernada George P.
Published: May 2005

A priority listing of existing health promotion research needs in large-scale family planning programs in East and Southeast Asia is presented. Areas of needed research include: family planning Provider/User Interaction; Contraceptive Use Continuation; Perceptions of Service Source; Comparative Educational and Social Marketing Approaches; and Psyco-Social Needs. Interestingly, many of the present needs were identified by researchers and program planners in national and international agencies more than a decade ago. Possible reasons for their not being implemented are discussed.
Two Testable Locational Equations for the Northern Great Basin
Authors: Mueller James W.
Published: May 2005

My review of the archaeological literature resulted in two testable equations that express a hypothesized quantitative relationship between environmental settings and prehistoric sites. Permanent water, land form, and intermittent water are general environmental settings that are most strongly associated with archaeological sites. Both testable equations are based on past projects performed by widely-spaced transects and non-probabilistic sampling methods. Testing the locational equations with rigorously controlled data is the next step in the predictive modeling strategy. Compliance and scientific limitations of my approach are also presented herein. The approach can be used by land management agencies as a planning tool, especially when combined with GIS and GPS formatted data.
How Health Care Institutions in the Netherlands Approach Physician Assisted Death
Authors: Van Der Kloot Meijburg Herman H.
Published: May 2005

There is a need for reassessing the specific responsibilities of health care institutions in cases of euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. For many patients health care institutions have become their end-of-life setting. With regard to patients' decisions toward the end of life, hospitals carry three responsibilities of their own: first, they must attend to the needs of the individual patient; second, they are responsible for offering professional expertise and their experience to the patient; and third, they must execute the responsibilities entrusted to them by society. In the way health care institutions cope with institutional decisions toward the end of life, they fulfill an exemplary function. In this contribution we will explore these institutional responsibilities by looking at the developments in The Netherlands.
Control of the Work Process: The Workers' Viewpoint
Authors: Durham T. R. , Morgan Judy , Larcom Barbara , Chase-Dunn Christopher K.
Published: May 2005

Recent studies of job satisfaction, working conditions, and changes in the content of work indicate that problems of low productivity and dissatisfaction may be related to changes in the organization of work which have reduced the amount of autonomy and control which workers have over the labor process. At the same time, elements in the labor movement, which has traditionally focused almost exclusively on obtaining higher wages and greater benefits for union members, now seem to be directing their attention to issues of workplace democracy and worker control over the production process and company policies. The research reported here investigates the determinants of worker autonomy and of workers' desire for increased worker control over the workplace. This article describes what are viewed as the main hypotheses suggested by earlier research and reports the findings and new hypotheses derived from a preliminary analysis of data from the ISR National 1977 Quality of Employment Survey and pilot in-depth interviews with sixteen Baltimore workers.
Brain Activity on Navigation in Virtual Environments
Authors: Mikropoulos Tassos A.
Published: May 2005

This article reports a first attempt to assess the cognitive processing that takes place in virtual environments, by measuring subjects' electrical brain activity using Fast Fourier Transform analysis. The aim of the study was the evaluation of virtual learning environments using the above methodology in addition to the standard methodology of social sciences and educational research, namely quantitative and qualitative empirical research. Twelve university students, undergraduates and postgraduates, were asked to perform the same task in a real and a virtual environment. During the two processes, their brain signals were recorded and analyzed. Eye-movement measurements showed that all the subjects were more attentive when navigating in the virtual world. The difference between alpha and beta rhythms for the virtual task indicated that students placed more attention in the virtual environment and were more responsive to the cognitive stimulation. Lower theta activity in the virtual task demonstrated that all the subjects placed less mental effort in the virtual task signifying that virtual reality provides environments suitable for knowledge transfer. These results show that virtual reality may provide educational environments for students to concentrate, perceive, and judge, and give us indications that there is a need of training of the users of virtual worlds.
Perceptions of Health Concept among Jordanian High School Students
Authors: Ahlawat Kapur S. , Baydoun Elias
Published: May 2005

Health education as a school subject and community awareness program has been gaining importance in many countries. Understanding the nature of the health concept is vital for planning the health education curricula and programs. Using a sample of 996 eighth, tenth, and twelfth grade, male and female, rural and urban, Jordanian high school students, differential perceptions of health concept were investigated by means of free word associations and definitions tests. Concurrent validity was established between the two measures. Both the tests yielded eleven categories each defining a different perspective of health concept. Category means were determined and the relative importance of each perceived aspect of health was discussed. Treating the eleven category scores as dependent variables and area, sex, and grade as independent variables, data were analyzed by MANOVA. The results showed some interesting interaction effects highlighting the differential perceptions of the health concept among various area gender and grade defined groups of students. Findings have implications for designing health education curricula.
Monitoring Adverse Reactions to Drugs: Toward a Therapeutic Audit
Authors: Wade O. L. , Beeley Linda
Published: May 2005

Concern about adverse reactions to drugs was first apparent in the 19th century, but organizations for routine monitoring and the premarketing testing of drugs were first set up in the early 1960s following the thalidomide tragedy. Information about adverse drug reactions comes from many sources, including reports in the medical literature and reports to national monitoring organizations. The World Health Organization has played an important role both in developing computer systems for monitoring and in aiding international cooperation. Intensive hospital monitoring systems have been developed, but epidemiologic studies of adverse reactions in the community are in their infancy. It is important to consider the problem of adverse reactions in relation to the use of drugs in the community. Studies of patterns of drug use in Northern Ireland have been conducted and a working party of the World Health Organization has been set up to compare drug use in different countries. The epidemiologic study of adverse reactions to drugs, an important new field for clinical pharmacology, should be viewed as only a part of a much larger, more embracing discipline: the therapeutic audit.
The Poetics of Meditation: Whitman's Meditative Catalog
Authors: Goodblatt Chanita , Glicksohn Joseph
Published: May 2005

Whitman uses the meditative catalog to depict and convey his subjective experiences to the reader. We argue that this type of catalog is a poetic realization of the meditative technique of mindfulness. In analyzing examples of such a catalog, using a cognitive-poetic approach, one can illuminate both the process of mindfulness and its literary depiction. Apart from being a depiction of ongoing perceptual experience, one especially involving the visual, auditory and olfactory senses, the catalog also presents instances of physiognomic perception and other syncretic phenomena. It is from the poet's detailed depiction of his own subjective experience that one can glean insight into the meditative experience.
When Simple Language Fails: Presenting Difficult Science to the Public
Authors: Rowan Katherine E.
Published: May 2005

Explanatory tools such as simple words, examples, and analogies are ineffective for overcoming an important obstacle to understanding science. This obstacle is that many fundamental scientific principles are counterintuitive (e.g., people resist wearing seat belts partly because scientific notions of inertia are counterintuitive). To assist science writers in presenting science news and concepts, this article identified 1) three major difficulties lay readers often have in understanding science, 2) the kinds of ideas readers find counterintuitive, 3) ineffective approaches for explaining these notions, and 4) effective strategies that help people understand these difficult ideas and their implications for health and safety.
Intelligent Computer Assisted Instruction Systems: The Nature of Learner Control
Authors: Duchastel Philippe
Published: May 2005

Learner control, which is contrary in spirit to the design philosophy underlying traditional CAI systems, is an important feature of most intelligent computer assisted instruction (ICAI) systems, as revealed through the learning dialogues they support. Such learner control is made possible by the natural language interface and the type of knowledge base incorporated in these systems. Such systems, it is argued, because they enable unplanned interactions with the learner and capitalize on student curiosity and motivation, can attain a much finer grain of individualization than traditional CAI systems can. The conceptual and affective requirements of instructional adaptation indicate the desirability of substantial learner control as well as the potential danger of overly strong tutorial guidance.
Does Licensing of Drugs in Industrialized Countries Guarantee Drug Quality and Safety for Third World Countries? The Case of Norplant Licensing in Finland
Authors: Ollila Eeva , Hemminki Elina
Published: May 2005

Norplant® implantable contraceptives were developed mainly for use in Third World countries, but first were approved for marketing in Finland in 1983 and in Sweden in 1985. Since then Norplant has been approved in more than 40 countries, most of them in the Third World. The authors analyzed the clinical documentation submitted to the Finnish and Swedish drug control authorities, and the assessments made of the data. The Finnish review process lasted for three years, and the number of data increased substantially during that time. The authors have not been allowed to publish the clinical data submitted in Finland, but a reconstruction from the Swedish data showed that the clinical data were of poor quality and were mainly focused on assessing efficacy. Side effects, acceptability, and requirements of the health care system for proper use of Norplant were poorly studied. This example of Norplant licensing in Finland shows that licensing of drugs in industrialized countries is insufficient for guaranteeing their safety in Third World countries.
Cognitive, Behavioral, and Psychiatric Symptoms in Two Children with Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum: Case Report
Authors: Párraga Humberto C. , Párraga Marianela I. , Jensen Alicia R.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

To report two children, with normal intelligence, referred for evaluation of complex cognitive, behavioral, and psychiatric problems, in which Agenesis of Corpus Callosum (ACC) was an incidental finding.

Method:

Case descriptions are used and a comprehensive differential diagnosis made with previous diagnoses of partial complex seizures (PCS), psychosis, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and behavior disorder.

Results:

Due to the presence of multiple biopsychosocial interactions a multimodal intervention including pharmacological, behavioral, psychotherapeutic, and social approaches was implemented, with good results.

Conclusion:

These cases underscore the importance of conducting a comprehensive neuropsychiatric evaluation in children with severe behavior problems and other confusing symptoms. Since the incidence of ACC in behaviorally disturbed children, with normal intelligence, is unknown, physicians must accept that a reasonable degree of suspicion is warranted. Further studies are needed to facilitate physicians' awareness.
Aesthetics and the Cultural Whole: A Study of Kono Dance Occasions
Authors: Hardin Kris L.
Published: May 2005

Aesthetic appreciation has often been investigated only in terms of what is defined as art in a Euro-American sense. This article examines a successful dance occasion among the Kono of eastern Sierra Leone and suggests that appreciation can only be fully understood if analyses take account of the wider cultural framework within which a particular form is produced and used.
Selected Myths Guiding the Reagan Administration's Health Policies
Authors: Navarro Vicente
Published: May 2005

This article analyzes four major assumptions that guide the Reagan Administration's health policies: 1) the Administration received an overwhelming popular mandate to reduce the federal role in the U.S. health sector; 2) the size and growth of federal social (including health) expenditures are contributing to the current economic recession; 3) the costs to business of federally imposed health and safety regulations have contributed to making the U.S. economy less competitive; and 4) market intervention is intrinsically more efficient than government intervention in regulating the costs and distribution of health resources. Based on these assumptions, the main characteristics of the Reagan Administration's health policies have been 1) a reduction of federal health expenditures and, very much in particular, expenditures to the poor, handicapped, and elderly; 2) a weakening of federal health and safety regulations to protect workers, consumers, and the environment; and 3) the further privatization and commodification of medical services. This article shows that there is no evidence to support the assumptions on which these policies are based. Quite to the contrary, all available evidence shows the opposite: 1) the majority of Americans want an expansion of federal health expenditures and a strengthening of federal health regulation; 2) U.S. government expenditures and regulations are much more limited than those of other countries whose economies are performing more satisfactorily; and 3) those countries with larger government interventions have more efficient health care systems than the American one, where the “free market” forces are primarily responsible for the allocation of resources. Thus, major Reagan Administration health policies are based on myth rather than reality.
Infantile Factors in Two Cases of Ulcerative Colitis
Authors: Levitan Harold L.
Published: May 2005

In a third investigation of psychological factors in the etiology of ulcerative colitis the author again utilizes selected cases in which the variables preceding illness are limited. A first and second investigation had utilized patients who were afflicted with partial deafness and organic brain damage respectively in addition to ulcerative colitis. All patients displayed a marked trend to objectlessness in the prodromal period. The patients with organic brain damage displayed an intense rage reaction as well. The present investigation focuses upon two patients with ulcerative colitis who had been traumatically separated from their mother at age six months. The prodromal period of illness in both cases was initiated by an event which possessed a strong associative link with the primal loss. During the prodromal period both patients displayed an intense rage reaction and a trend to objectlessness which were similar to the reactions of the patients with organic brain damage. This particular emotional configuration appears to represent the revival of the emotional configuration which had prevailed following the loss in infancy. Some tentative ideas regarding the role played by the revival of the archaic emotional configuration in the production of physical changes are discussed.
Drug Attitude Factors: Comparisons of Samples from 1985 and 1992
Authors: Myers Lin S. , Vankirk Gary , Gentry Thomas A. , Wakefield James A.
Published: May 2005

The Stanislaus Chemical Effects Survey, which contains the names of twenty-four substances and asks subjects to rate the relative harm and benefit of each to society, was given to male and female undergraduates in 1985 and 1992. Factor analysis of the responses from each sample were done separately and then a comparison was made of the resulting factors. Fifteen of the twenty-four drugs retained their approximate same position in the structure of drug attitudes between the two samples. Attitudes about three substances, tobacco, oral contraceptives, and PCP, notably appeared to have undergone significant shifts. Discriminant analysis revealed significant differences between the two samples, between males and females regardless of year, and an interaction between year and gender. Findings suggest that attitudes remain conservative about drugs in general and that public policies may be contributing to the shifts in attitudes seen.
Millions of Mothers Lack Health Insurance Coverage in the United States
Authors: Guyer Jocelyn , Broaddus Matthew , Dude Annie
Published: May 2005

Some 5.9 million American mothers caring for young or school-aged children lack health insurance. Although nearly nine in ten uninsured mothers are members of working families, most lack access to affordable coverage through their job or a spouse's job. Most are ineligible for publicly subsidized coverage unless their incomes are far below the poverty line. The millions of uninsured mothers are at high risk of going without needed preventive and primary care. If they become seriously ill, their families can face the prospect of a financial crisis. The nation has made significant progress in extending health care coverage to children in low-income families through Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), but no comparable effort has been made to insure the mothers of these children. A few states have started to address the problem by transforming their SCHIPs into family-based programs that also cover low-income parents. Bipartisan legislation under consideration, known as FamilyCare, would encourage this trend by providing more federal funding to states that could be used to extend health insurance to the parents of children already covered by publicly funded programs.
Use of the Continuous Response Digital Interface in the Evaluation of Live Musical Performance
Authors: Johnson Christopher M.
Published: May 2005

The present study was designed to assess the usefulness of the Continuous Response Digital Interface (CDRI) as a tool for assessing student performance in a field setting. Judges evaluated musical performance at a regional band festival using the conventional means of a musical score and orally taped comments, but also used a CRDI device to record ongoing assessment levels. CRDI dials were manipulated on a clockwise/counter-clockwise 250 degree continuum which recorded data, via a computer, three times per second. All three adjudicators indicated that the CRDI did not distract from any other assessment procedures and that the dial movement on the CRDI was a representative measure of their temporal assessment. Analysis of CRDI mean scores and final discrete ratings revealed a 92 percent rate of intrajudge reliability. Advantages of having the complete and specific assessment picture that is provided by the CRDI instrument are cited, as well as applications to other possible assessment environments are suggested.
Patterns of Suicidal Behavior in Long-Term Care Facilities: A Preliminary Report on an Ongoing Study
Authors: Osgood Nancy J. , Brant Barbara A. , Lipman Aaron A.
Published: May 2005

The prevention of suicide and other forms of self-destructive behavior among elderly residents of institutions is a major consideration because of its importance from humanitarian, professional, and legal points of view. One major aim of this study is to determine the extent and nature of overt suicide, attempted suicide, and intentional life-threatening behavior (ILTB) in long-term care facilities and to identify differences in patterns of suicidal behavior by gender, age, and race. A random sample of 1080 institutions was chosen from the National Master Facility Inventory obtained from the Long-Term Care Statistics Branch of the National Center for Health Statistics. A written questionnaire containing items on facility characteristics, staff and residents, and number of overt suicides, attempted suicides, incidents of ILTB, and deaths from ILTB was mailed to administrators of facilities. Questionnaires were received from administrators in 463 facilities across the country. Chi-square techniques allowed us to determine differences in types of suicidal behavior and whether or not death was likely to result from suicidal behavior by gender, age, and race. Men and women differed from each other in terms of the method chosen. The young-old, old-old, and those under sixty differed on type of suicidal behavior, as well as on likelihood of death from participation in suicidal behaviors.
Life Ownership Orientation and Attitudes toward Abortion, Suicide, Doctor-Assisted Suicide, and Capital Punishment
Authors: Ross Lisa Thomson , Kaplan Kalman J.
Published: May 2005

Initial support is presented for a new scale that assesses one's life ownership orientation or the extent to which one believes that God, the individual, or society has the power to control and govern one's life. Life Ownership Orientation Questionnaire (LOOQ) scores demonstrated higher predictive validity with regard to attitudes toward abortion, suicide, doctor-assisted suicide, and capital punishment than did measures of religiosity and political liberalism-conservatism.
On Expanding the Definition of Technical Writing
Authors: Harris John S.
Published: May 2005

In this article, the discussion centers around a changing and expanding definition of technical writing. An early definition was restrictive. Later, as courses for a number of disciplines were designed, technical writing became more diversified. A distinction is made between technical reporting and technical writing in other forms. The relation of graphics to technical writing is explored. The author gives a number of examples of the expanding subject matter and forms of technical writing.
Using Technology for Educational and Community Reform: The Case of Union City, New Jersey
Authors: Henríquez Andrés , Chang Han-Hua
Published: May 2005

In 1996 President Clinton and Vice President Gore chose Union City, New Jersey to announce Americas Education Technology Challenge. The Union City school district has transformed itself from a blighted urban district on the verge of a takeover from the state, to one of the urban success stories in education. The authors, working closely with school administrators, have conducted a summer long intensive course—Business, Community and Educational Applications of Technology course. The class was replicated systemwide as administrators saw a strong emphasis on student creativity and the expression of ideas take hold from a community perspective. The authors reflect on the logistics of teaching a course and the context necessary for successful scale up and implementation.
The Mexican Revolution and Health Care or the Health of the Mexican Revolution
Authors: Horn James J.
Published: May 2005

Despite a victorious social revolution, a self-proclaimed “revolutionary” government, and a significant post-war economic growth, Mexico has not achieved a just or equitable social system. The Mexican Revolution led to the emergence of a new bureaucratic class whose “trickle-down” development strategy sacrificed social welfare to capital accumulation. Mexican morbidity and mortality patterns resemble those of more impoverished developing nations without revolutionary experience. The patterns of health care in Mexico reflect inequities and contradictions in the society and economy at large and flow from the erosion of the egalitarian aims of the revolution concomitant with the expansion of capitalism and the concentration of the benefits of “modernization” in the hands of privileged elites. Mexico's health problems are symptomatic of a general socio-economic malaise which questions the legitimacy of the Revolution.
Should We Abolish the Private Health Insurance Industry?
Authors: Bodenheimer Thomas
Published: May 2005

Health care financing can be based on one of two conflicting principles: health care as a right versus the insurance principle. The former assures equal access to care for all people regardless of income, while the latter requires each grouping in society to pay its own way. In the United States, health financing has utilized both principles, with employer-sponsored group health insurance approximating health care as a right. However, the insurance principle is increasingly eroding this right. In five major areas, the private health insurance industry has serious flaws: it has contributed to health care inflation; it wastes billions in administrative and marketing costs; it is unfair to many groups in society; it has undermined the positive features of health maintenance organization reform; and it has far too much political and economic power. In order to establish health care as a right as the guiding principle of U.S. health care financing, the private health insurance industry and the insurance principle should be abolished.
Lithium-Induced Tremor Treated with Vitamin B6: A Preliminary Case Series
Authors: Miodownik Chanoch , Witztum Eliezer , Lerner Vladimir
Published: May 2005

Objective:

The occurrence of tremor in patients receiving lithium is well known, but the management of this side effect is a significant problem both for patients and physicians. Although some reports have suggested that beta-blockers may be useful in treating lithium-induced tremor (LT), these agents have different side effects which limit the possibility of their use. Vitamin B6 has been reported to be effective in treatment of patients suffering from different kinds of neuroleptic-induced movement disorders including parkinsonism and tardive dyskinesia.

Methods:

This report presents the results of a preliminary four-week open-label clinical trial of five patients who suffered from LT and who were treated with vitamin B6 (900–1200mg/d). The severity of tremor was assessed using the tremor subscale from the Simpson-Angus Scale (SAS) and Subjective Clinical Improvement Impression scale (SCII).

Results:

After the addition of vitamin B6 to their treatment, according to the SAS scores four patients showed an impressive improvement until total disappearance of tremor. The subjective scale, on which the patients' scored their impression of clinical improvement, showed similar results. None of the patients suffered from any side effects attributable to vitamin B6.

Conclusions:

The results suggest that vitamin B6 may alleviate LT, double-blind controlled trials are needed to establish this effect.
Benchmarks of Fairness: A Moral Framework for Assessing Equity
Authors: Caplan Ronald L. , Light Donald W. , Daniels Norman
Published: May 2005

The health care systems of most advanced industrialized countries are currently undergoing extensive reforms. In Europe, in addition to economic and political issues, issues of “equity” and “solidarity” are very much on the minds of some health care reformers. Elsewhere in Europe, economics and politics dominate health care reform, and concerns about fairness are either absent or of secondary importance. Similarly, the recent health care debates in the United States were largely carried out in terms of payment schemes, cost-containment and outcome measures, campaign strategies, and political concessions. Issues of fairness were either hidden in the many features of the competing proposals and the debates about them, or totally ignored. In both cases, there has been no practical way to gauge how a given change would alter the equity or fairness of existing health care services. This article addresses that void by presenting ten scorable benchmarks of fairness.
Widening Inequalities of Health in Britain: A Rejoinder to Rudolph Klein
Authors: Townsend Peter
Published: May 2005

Since the publication in 1980 of the Black Report, Inequalities in Health, critics have attempted to challenge its finding that for nearly all adult male and female age groups in Britain, inequalities in mortality between occupational class groups have widened during recent decades. This article seeks to refute one of the critics, using data published during the 1980s, and goes on to point out that if, as the Black Report also argued, material deprivation is the predominant scientific explanation for inequalities in mortality, then it is widening living standards between classes that we must examine to understand the trend.
Health Service Regionalization in New Brunswick, Canada: A Bold Move
Authors: Reamy Jack
Published: May 2005

New Brunswick moved swiftly in 1992 to regionalize hospital and physician services along with the reform and expansion of other health care services. The dissolution of 51 hospital and community health services center boards and the establishment of eight region hospital corporations to oversee services in the seven health regions set the tone for regionalization in the province. The plan provides the flexibility to meet specific regional needs. The initial regionalization of hospital services was followed by the determination of the appropriate number, mix, and distribution of physician resources for each region, also to be managed by the region hospital corporation. The provincial government's central role not only guides the regions, but also uses incentives and disincentives to ensure that regional goals are met. While regionalization is not new and some components of the New Brunswick plan have been used elsewhere, the effort offers an integrated model for the regionalization of hospital and physician services, with the expansion of complementary services.
ECSTACY: A Review of MDMA and MDA
Authors: Climko Robert P. , Roehrich Herbert , Sweeney Donald R. , Al-Razi Jamil
Published: May 2005

The Drug Enforcement Administration classified the drug methylenedioxymeth-amphetamine, MDMA, also known as Ecstacy, as a Schedule I controlled substance on July 1, 1985. The controversy surrounding the classification of MDMA is related to the question of its efficacy as an adjunct to psychotherapy and the larger issue of how to regulate the production and use of designer drugs. The authors review the literature on MDMA and its predecessor, MDA, a substance that differs from MDMA by one methyl group.
Closed Circuit TV as an Incentive for Learning-Handicapped Children
Authors: Mayhall W. F. , Jenkins J. R. , Hocker P. N. , Hanks L. L. , Peschka C. M. , Miller C. D.
Published: May 2005

In a token economy classroom, closed circuit TV was found to be an effective incentive to increase reading behavior of 17 second and third grade children. By satisfying daily minimal page quotas, the children qualified to act during the last half hour of the day in TV skits. The videotapes were then shown to the children on the following morning to stimulate their interest in again qualifying for the privilege.
Teachers' Smoking Worldwide: A Review of Nineteen Countries (1966–1983)
Authors: Adriaanse Hans , van Reek Jan
Published: May 2005

A secondary analysis of thirty-eight investigations of teachers' tobacco consumption was carried out in nineteen countries during 1966–1983. Studies are analyzed in terms of smoking behavior, recognition of the non-smoking teacher as a role model, and the extent of their participation in smoking reduction among students and the general population. Non-smokers were found to be more likely to affirm the importance of non-smoking teachers as role models for students. Only a minority of smokers recognized the importance of this role.
Impact of a Game Booklet on Family Visit to an Art Exhibition
Authors: Gottesdiener Hana , Vilatte Jean-Christophe
Published: May 2005

This study evaluated the impact of a game booklet on children's behavior during a visit to a temporary exhibition with their family. The children were divided into two groups. The first group received a game booklet prepared by the educational service of the museum. The second visited the exhibition without the help of the booklet. Several aspects of the children's visit were observed: duration of the visit, stops in front of masterpieces, itinerary, use of the booklet, and interactions with family members. At the end of the visit, the children were asked questions about the definition of Impressionism, the differences noted between the various paintings in the exhibition, and their knowledge of the names of the painters in the show. This was followed by a recognition task. It was found that the booklet induced a “booklet itinerary,” but it did not help memorization of the exhibit content nor did its use alter sociability within the family. These results appear linked to the specific population of the families studied, namely, those familiar with museums and Impressionist painting.
Burned Rock Complexes, Baked Clay Objects, Steatite, and Ceramics: Evolutionary Implications for Plains/Eastern Woodlands Cooking Technologies
Authors: Benison Christopher J.
Published: May 2005

Burned rock complexes (BRC) have a broad geographic distribution. However, they are not a fully understood class of cultural feature. Dated to Early/Middle Woodland times by some Plains researchers, BRC also have been attributed to Late Archaic cultures in the Eastern Woodlands (e.g., Kentucky Shell Mound Archaic). Archaeologists have documented important Late Archaic/Middle Woodland cooking technologies other than BRC as well. These technological improvements include baked clay objects, steatite cooking slabs, and fiber- and mineral-tempered ceramics. Comparing various contextual, functional, and physical characteristics for these cooking tools results in an improved understanding of the advantages conferred by each. Such an understanding will shed light on the varying circumstances under which prehistoric groups utilized cooking technologies. The overall goal of this article is to develop models which account for the full range of variation in late prehistoric economies of the Central Plains and Eastern Woodlands.
Treading the Troubled Waters of Training: Some Guidelines for Improving Learning Efficiency
Authors: Lackmann John
Published: May 2005

The role of learning as a tool for enhancing human efficiency and survival is examined. The advantages of using simulations as a means of improving learning efficiency is discussed. Thirty important concepts based on research findings are presented for individuals interested in promoting learning efficiency. Based on these concepts simulations were constructed and tested at eight national and regional medical meetings.** Reactions were obtained from 846 physicians and other health professionals. This research suggests that it is possible for training institutions to significantly improve learning efficiency.
The Doctor's Wife: Mental Illness and Marital Pattern
Authors: Miles James E. , Krell Robert , Lin Tsung-Yi
Published: May 2005

It is a clinical impression that physicians' wives present in disproportionately large numbers as psychiatric patients; that in the vast majority severe marital problems are present; and that the marital relationships show a similar pattern. The purpose of this paper is to ascertain whether the latter two impressions have any basis in fact. Accordingly, a random sample of twenty physicians' wives who had been in-patients in the University of British Columbia Health Sciences Centre Hospital during the period March 1, 1969 to May 31, 1973, and whose husbands had been interviewed, was selected. The records were reviewed to obtain personal data, pertinent psychiatric history, diagnosis, the personality of husband and wife and information on the marital relationship. These conclusions emerged: 1. Ninety per cent of the patients had a primary diagnosis of depressive neurosis. 2. Ninety-five per cent of the patients had a secondary diagnosis of personality disorder, hysterical personality and passive-aggressive personality in order of frequency. 3. In 90 per cent of the patients there was a history of suicidal preoccupation or attempt. 4. In 55 per cent of the patients there was a history of significant drug and/or alcohol abuse. 5. The patients were more frequently ward management problems. 6. A common marital pattern was noted: a dependent, histrionic wife and an emotionally detached husband. 7. The cases were characterized by their complexity, severity, long duration and difficulties involving the patient and spouse in an appropriate treatment plan.

The authors discuss the implications of this study, particularly its significance in provoking examination of what measures might be utilized for early detection and intervention with those physicians and physician-marriages at risk.
Challenges and Opportunities of Online Education
Authors: Huang Albert H.
Published: May 2005

Recently, the continuing development of telecommunication technology has enabled the creation of a new form of education—online education (OLE). OLE provides the flexibility and efficiency of computer-assisted instruction as well as the individual attention and support of instructor-guided instruction. It brings many new opportunities and challenges to schools, instructors, and students. The development of OLE has significant implications for traditional education. The change of communication channels and methods subsequently change the requirements for instructional skills, learning skills, administrative services, and educational facilities. Traditional schools, instructors, and students must prepare themselves with new tools and skills to meet the new challenges.
Difference in Symptom Profile between Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Anxiety Secondary to Hyperthyroidism
Authors: Iacovides Apostolos , Fountoulakis Konstantinos N. , Grammaticos Phillipos , Ierodiakonou Charalambos
Published: May 2005

Objective:

The differential diagnosis between subclinical hyperthyroidism and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is often a difficult problem to solve without laboratory examination. The aim of this pilot study was to assess whether there are differences in the symptom profile between these two disorders.

Methods:

Fifty patients took part in the study: Twenty-five were hyperthyroid patients, and twenty-five were GAD patients. The diagnosis was based on the TSH values and the DSM-IV criteria, respectively. The Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAS) and the list of fifty-one symptoms produced by the detailed expansion of HAS items were used to quantify the anxiety symptomatology. The differences in the frequencies between the two diagnostic groups were calculated at each categorical response for every item of both scales. Forward Stepwise Discriminant Function Analysis was performed twice using HAS items and the fifty-one-list items.

Results:

The symptoms of anxiety in subclinical hyperthyroidism were not identical to those of GAD. Four Hyperthyroid/Anxiety Indices (HAI I-IV) were developed. These indices reach optimum classification of patients (3 of them reach 100% sensitivity and specificity).

Conclusion:

The results of the current study suggest that it is possible to differentiate between GAD and subclinical cases of hyperthyroidism by the careful study of clinical symptomatology. This may be of particular help in isolated areas without laboratory support, but replication of the indices in other samples is indicated.
Mode of Production and Population Patterns: Policy Implications for West African Development
Authors: Franke Richard W.
Published: May 2005

Recent developments in population theory have made possible a re-examination of demographic evidence from West Africa which suggests that population growth and migration are primarily responses to changes in the nature of the production system. Precolonial, colonial, and independence period data provide a series of correlations consistent with the approach and suggest a possible new synthesis of the West African data.

The poorest countries of West Africa are those bordering on the Sahara Desert, known as the “Sahel” region. In response to the drought and famine in that region from 1968–1974, numerous proposals have been made for increased attention to reducing population growth. The analysis presented in this paper leads to the conclusion that population policies other than those attempting to lower the birth rate are called for. These would include relocation of populations previously displaced by colonial labor migrations and the re-integration of herding and farming production systems, both of which policies should be considered as population policies. Data are presented from specific projects underway in Senegal, Mauritania, and Mali, to illustrate the argument.
Remedial Test Results Feedback While Maintaining Test Secrecy
Authors: Fraley Lawrence E. , Butcher Alan W.
Published: May 2005

When students, required to attain specified performance levels on a module of instruction, failed to pass the posttest, they were given the exact locations in the instructional materials where specific information could be found that, if properly applied, would answer the test items that they had missed. They were not told anything about the missed test items. The students engaged in remedial study, optionally using the locator information provided, until they passed the posttest at the required level. The performance of these subjects was compared with the performance of a similar student population who did not get the specific information locators.