Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulator with controllable pulse parameters (cTMS).

We describe a novel transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) device that uses a circuit topology incorporating two energy-storage capacitors and two insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) to generate near-rectangular electric field E-field) pulses with adjustable number, polarity, duration, and amplitude of the pulse phases. This controllable-pulse-parameter TMS (cTMS) device can induce E-field pulses with phase widths of 5-200 µs and positive/negative phase amplitude ratio of 1-10. Compared to conventional monophasic and biphasic TMS, cTMS reduces energy dissipation by 78-82% and 55-57% and decreases coil heating by 15-33% and 31-41%, respectively.

Juvenile probation officers' mental health decision making.

We reviewed case records for 583 juvenile delinquency intakes in four county juvenile probation offices; 14.4% were receiving mental health or substance use services at case opening, and 24.9% were newly identified during probation contact.

Culture and psychiatric symptoms in Puerto Rican children: longitudinal results from one ethnic group in two contexts.

Background: The development of youth psychopathology may be associated with direct and continuous contact with a different culture (acculturation) and to distress related to this process (cultural stress). We examine cultural experiences of Puerto Rican families in relation to youth psychiatric symptoms in two different contexts: one in which migrant Puerto Ricans reside on the mainland as an ethnic minority and another in which they reside in their place of origin.

Sample: Probability samples of 10- to 13-year-old youth of Puerto Rican background living in the South Bronx, New York City (SB) and in the San Juan Metropolitan area in Puerto Rico (PR) (N = 1,271) were followed over time.

Factors associated with stress in mothers of children with autism.

The objective of this case-control study was to investigate the determinants of maternal stress in mothers of children with autism. Mothers of 31 children with autism from mental health clinics were matched by child age/gender and mother age to 31 mothers of children without mental health problems, drawn from public schools and a primary care unit. Logistic regression models showed that the presence of stress in mothers was primarily associated with having a child with autism.