Family history in ovarian cancer referral population

In order to determine the incidence of familial and hereditary ovarian cancer in a referral patient population, we conducted a retrospective study of 44 patients from a consecutive set of 62 patients treated for ovarian carcinoma at the Gynecologic Oncology Clinic at the Richland Memorial Hospital Center for Cancer Treatment and Research between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 1993. In our study of the referred patients, only two (4.55%) reported a history of at least one first-degree relative also being affected with ovarian cancer. However, 13 patients (29.55%) reported a family history consistent with one of the hereditary ovarian cancer syndromes. In addition to having a suggestive family history, these 13 families demonstrated several cardinal features of hereditary cancer syndromes including early onset, bilaterality, multiple primary tumors, and transmission. Race was the only significantly different demographic factor between the hereditary and sporadic ovarian cancer groups. All 13 patients who appeared to have a hereditary form of cancer were Caucasian.     

Assessment of mood states: Biases in single-administration assessments

Rasmussen, Jeffrey, Willingham, and Glover (1994) demonstrated that single-administration values derived from the Profile of Mood States (POMS) were biased estimates oftypical mood state. Like the previous study, the present study investigated whether single-administration POMS scores would be similar to average POMS scores derived from multiple administrations. In addition, in this investigation, single-administration instructions directed respondents to estimatetypical mood over a period of time that coincided with the time and duration of the multiple administrations. Subjects rated mood states during two single-administration settings, one before and one just after a multiple administration period. For both single-administration assessments, subjects rated mood relative to “How you have felt for the past 3 days, including today?” During the multiple-administration assessment, subjects rated mood six times a day for 3 days as prompted by preprogrammed wrist monitors. Results were consistent with earlier findings by identifying the bias in single-administration assessments. Initial single-administration values were significantly higher than both the averaged multiple-administration values and the second single-administration scores. These results support the contention that single-administration values from the POMS may provide biased estimates oftypical mood states.     

Retrieval-induced forgetting in an eyewitness-memory paradigm

The potential impact of repeated questioning of a witness was examined. Subjects were shown slides depicting the aftermath of a theft and subsequently were asked several times to recall selected details of what they saw. Previous experiments employing simple verbal materials have demonstrated that information addressed by questioning becomes more recallable in the future than it would have been without such retrieval practice, but other information, especially that bearing a categorical similarity to the practiced items, becomes less recallable. Such positive and negative effects appeared in subjects’ later recall of crime-scene details in the present experiment. These results have an important implication for legal practice: Repeated interrogation of a witness can modify the witness’s memory-enhancing the recall of certain details while inducing the forgetting of other details-even when no misinformation is contained or implied in the questioning.     

Antecedent exercise as a treatment for disruptive behavior: Testing hypothesized mechanisms of action

This study evaluated the effects of antecedent physical exercise (AE) and a mastery task on behaviorally disturbed children's self-concepts and rates of disruptive behaviors. In addition, we evaluated whether changes in self-concept mediated any exercise induced changes in rates of disruptive behavior. Fifty-eight children were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) antecedent exercise (jog/walk), (b) “mastery” task (a successive improvement miniaturebasketball shooting task), and (c) no treatment control group. A week of baseline was followed by 4 weeks of treatment and, finally another week of return to baseline. Results indicated that: (a) AE produced significantly less disruptive behavior than no treatment, (b) the “Mastery” task did not produce significantly less disruptive behavior than no treatment, (c) neither treatment produced increases in self-concept relative to no treatment, and (d) changes in self-concept did not mediate AE induced reductions in disruptive behaviors.     

INCREASING RECYCLING IN ACADEMIC BUILDINGS: A SYSTEMATIC REPLICATION

We placed recycling receptacles in two locations in academic buildings and studied recycling behavior within an ABA multiple baseline design. During baseline, recycling receptacles were placed in a central location. During the intervention, receptacles were moved into classrooms where beverages were primarily consumed. Baseline conditions were then reinstated. The percentage of cans recycled daily increased during intervention and returned to near-baseline levels during withdrawal. The percentage of cans discarded daily in the trash decreased during the intervention and increased to near-baseline levels during withdrawal. Implications of this study include making recycling more convenient in institutional settings.     

Visual-word recognition thresholds for screen-fragmented names of the Snodgrass and Vanderwart pictures

The set of names corresponding to the pictures from Snodgrass and Vanderwart (1980) were screen fragmented by means of a series of procedures implemented in Microsoft QuickBasic on a Macintosh microcomputer. Words were screen fragmented by deleting blocks of pixels from their images rather than by deleting individual letters. The screen-fragmentation procedure is particularly useful for the present set of words, in which a large proportion of the names of the pictures are short (fewer than five letters). The screen-fragmentation procedure can produce any number of fragmentation levels. In the present implementation, eight levels of fragmented images were produced, to correspond to the eight levels available for the Snodgrass and Vanderwart pictures.     

An automatic micropipette fluid dispenser

An automatic device for repeated dispensation of a precisely controlled amount of fluid is described. The device employs a repeating micropipette powered by an electric motor geared to a rack-and-pinion drive. In our particular application, thirsty rats work for 0.2-ml shots of water delivered to a metal spout connected to a drinkometer circuit. This arrangement permits the recording of both volumetric intake and the number of licks directed at the spout.     

Self-concept and sociometric outcomes: a comparison of only children and sibling children from urban and rural areas in the People's Republic of China.

We investigated differences in self-concept between 360 only children and 555 sibling children in the sixth grade of three urban schools and three rural schools in the People's Republic of China. Peer perceptions and teacher perceptions were also collected using sociometric measures. Self-concept was determined by the Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985). Comparisons of sibling children and only children showed no differences on self-concept; however, urban residents had higher self-concept scores than children from rural areas, and boys scored higher than girls. No significant interaction effects between sibling status, gender, and residence were found.     

Effect of field size, head motion, and rotational velocity on roll vection and illusory self-tilt in a tumbling room

The effect of field size, velocity, and visual fixation upon the perception of self-body rotation and tilt was examined in a rotating furnished room. Subjects sat in a stationary chair in the furnished room which could be rotated about the body roll axis. For full-field conditions, complete 360 degrees body rotation (tumbling) was the most common sensation (felt by 80% of subjects). Constant tilt or partial tumbling (less than 360 degrees rotation) occurred more frequently with a small field of view (20 deg). The number of subjects who experienced complete tumbling increased with increases in field of view and room velocity (for velocities between 15 and 30 degrees s-1). The speed of perceived self-rotation relative to room rotation also increased with increasing field of view.     

The Relationship Between Health and Human Services and the Personal Goal-Directed Activities of Persons Living with AIDS

This study evaluates the relationship between the social climate from different services and the personal goal-directed activities of 224 individuals with AIDS. The study's results supported the main hypothesis that recipient and participatory service involvement uniquely influence personal goal-directed activities, even after considering individuals with AIDS' physical symptoms, psychological distress, income, and recruitment site. Income and involvement with participatory services were both positively related to the amount of personal goal-directed activity. Longitudinal analyses suggest that personal initiative contributes to the subsequent amount of personal goal-directed activities a person pursues. These results suggest further examination of factors contributing to the selection of different service types and of the processes underlying the relationship between participatory services and positive outcomes for clients with AIDS.