Effects of diazepam on schedule-controlled and schedule-induced behavior under signaled and unsignaled shock.

Schedule-controlled lever pressing and schedule-induced licking were studied in rats under a multiple fixed-interval fixed-interval schedule of food reinforcement upon which was superimposed a multiple variable-time variable-time schedule of electric-shock delivery. Shocks were signaled in one component of the multiple schedule and unsignaled in the other. The effects of diazepam upon the suppression of behavior during the signal (conditioned suppression) and during signaled and unsignaled shock (differential suppression) were studied under several shock intensities (Experiment 1) and at increased body weight (Experiment 2). In each study, diazepam led to dose-dependent increases in the rate of pressing and licking during signaled and unsignaled shock, but had little effect on conditioned suppression. the rate-enhancing effects of diazepam depended upon the intensity of shock, nature of the response, and whether or not shocks were signaled. The data was discussed in terms of (1) implications for understanding the effects of signaled and unsignaled shock on behavior, (2) the effects of diazepam on behavior suppressed by response-independent shock, and (3) comparison between operant and schedule-induced behavior.     

Treatment of overweight children: The relationship between dependent measures and a clinically significant outcome

Behavioral treatments for overweight children have not fared well in achieving or maintaining clinically significant weight losses. The use of more appropriate dependent measures which also take height, sex, and age into consideration is suggested. A multiple-baseline analysis of the behavioral treatment of seven overweight children was conducted. Results support the contention that a more clinically significant outcome emerges when appropriate measures are used.     

Sensitivity analysis of structural equation models

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the sensitivity analysis of structural equation model when minor perturbation is introduced. Some influence measure that based on the general case weight perturbation is derived for the generalized least squares estimation. An influence measure that related to the Cook's distance is also developed for the special case deletion perturbation scheme. Using the proposed methodology, the influential observation in a data set can be detected. Moreover, the general theory can be applied to detect the influential parameters in a model. Finally, some illustrative artificial and real examples are presented. The research of the first author was supported by a Hong Kong UPGC grant. The authors are greatly indebted to two reviewers for some very valuable comments for improvement of the paper.     

汉语句子格角色分配的一种神经网络方法

提出了一个基于分布式表征的计算模型,通过并行分布加工方式完成六类汉语句子的格角色分配任务。模型是一个四层的前传网络,包括输入层（词的分布式表征层）,两个隐层,输出层（格角色层）;其中第一隐层的一部分反馈到输入层。模型采用误差反传算法,通过提供学习样本和目标输出,不断调整三个权值矩阵,使得网络稳定时能得到正确的结果。经过训练后的网络具有一定的稳定性和鲁棒性。还对这种方法与传统的符号处理方法作了比较和分析。     

Relationship between the Millon Behavioral Health Inventory and the minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI) in low-back pain patients

The Millon Behavioral Health Inventory (MBHI) is being used with increasing frequency for the assessment of chronic pain, although there is a relative lack of evidence as to its utility, and prior studies have not examined low back pain. This investigation compared the MBHI to the MMPI in a sample of low-back pain patients and analyzed subgroups of pain patients based upon their MBHI responses. Subjects were 60 patients who had been admitted to outpatient multidisciplinary pain clinics of two Chicago-area hospitals. Patients completed both the MMPI and the MBHI and provided demographic information. Results of correlational analyses indicated strong relationships between the MBHI psychogenic attitude, psychosomatic correlate, and prognostic index scales and the validity scales of the MMPI. The MBHI Pain Treatment Responsivity scale (PP) correlated with 16 of the other 19 MBHI scales. PP did not demonstrate specificity with low back pain patients. The results of both the scale comparisons and the exploratory two-group cluster subgroup analysis support the notion that responses to the MBHI are largely affected by the respondent's tendency to deny psychopathology or to admit emotional distress.     

Negative emotionality and positive/social behavior in rural appalachian infants: Prediction from caregiver and infant characteristics

This study explored stability and change in two aspects of infant temperamental behavior in a sample of 94 economically-disadvantaged rural Appalachian families. Regressions were used to predict Time 2 temperament for infants who increased and dereased in negative emotionality and positive/social behavior. Both infant and caregiving environment factors contributed to explaining change in first-year behavior. In this sample, maternal social support predicted more optimal change in infants' negative emotionality and positive/social behavior. Receiving public assistance and minor perinatal risk were associated with slower decline in negative emotionality and emergence of positive/social behavior.     

The influence of geographic region on the seasonality of early motor development

This investigation was conducted to determine whether the strong seasonality effect on infant motor development that has been noted in moderate climates would be replicated with infants born in a geographic region with more extreme conditions. One hundred and forty-five full-term infants (72 males, 73 females) born in Edmonton, alberta were assessed using the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) at 7 months of age. No seasonality effects on the AIMS total scores or the prone, supine, sitting, or standing subsection scores were detected. A weak and statistically non-significant correlation was obtained between the average monthly AIMS scores and the average monthly temperatures 7 months after birth. These results suggest that extreme climatic conditions in urban geographic regions may dampen effects of season of birth on infant motor development.     

Multidimensional Assessment of Chronic Low Back Pain: Predicting Treatment Outcomes

This study explored responses of chronic low back pain patients to treatment for different types of patients (dysfunctional, interpersonally distressed, and minimizer/adaptive coper), as classified using the Multidimensional Pain Inventory (MPI). In addition, changes in MPI scores during treatment were examined separately for each patient type. Finally, this study explored the relationships between changes in MPI scores and physical improvement. Between-group differences in improvement were significant, with dysfunctional patients showing the most improvement on several scales. MPI scales that best predicted physical improvement differed according to patient type. Implications for treatment of low back pain patients are suggested, based upon differential reactions to treatment and different predictors of physical improvement for each patient group.     

Rat gestation during space flight: Outcomes for dams and their offspring born after return to earth

Sprague-Dawley rats were studied to learn whether gestation in the near-zero gravity, high radiation environment of space impacts selected mammalian postnatal events. Ten rats spent days nine to twenty of pregnancy aboard the space shuttle orbiterAtlantis (STS-66). Their movement, was studied shortly after return to Earth; subsequently, several of their offspring were cross-fostered and examined through postnatal day 81 (P81) for whole body growth and somatic motor development. Values for the flight animals were compared to ground-based control groups. Relative to controls, the pregnant flight rats showed a marked paucity of locomotion during the first few hours after returning to Earth. There was greater likelihood of perinatal morbidity for the offspring of flight dams when compared to the control groups. Whole body weight of surviving offspring, averaged for each group separately, showed typical sigmoidal growth curves when plotted against postnatal age. The flight group for our study had a larger ratio of female to male pups, and that was sufficient to account for the lower average daily weight gained by the flight animals when compared to the control groups. Walking was universally achieved by P13 and preceded eye opening which was complete in all pups by P17. Thus, both of these developmental horizons were attained on schedule in the flight as well as the control rats. Characteristic changes were observed in hind limb step length and gait width as the pups grew. These patterns occurred at the same time in each group of rats. Therefore, prenatal space flight from days nine to twenty of gestation did not interfere with the establishment of normal patterns for hind paw placement during walking.