Self-concept differentiation across the adult life span.

This study used 2 measures to examine 158 adults' (80 men, 78 women; ages 20 to 88 years) self-concept differentiation (SCD) across 5 role-specific self-representations. Findings revealed that the 2 measures did not assess SCD in similar ways and that they showed different associations with age. Specifically, the 1st measure was not significantly related to age, whereas the 2nd measure showed a curvilinear, U-shaped association with age.

Prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Osteopenia or osteoporosis is common in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The use of corticosteroids contributes to the decline in bone loss; however, osteoporosis may develop in patients with inflammatory bowel disease independent of corticosteroid use. Risk factors for the development of low bone mass in patients with inflammatory bowel disease include the general risk factors for osteoporosis as well as additional factors such as the presence of chronic inflammation, use of corticosteroids and other pharmaceuticals, and nutritional deficiencies as the result of small bowel disease or small bowel resections.

Two-dimensional echocardiographic anatomy of the snake heart (Python molurus bivittatus).

Two-dimensional echocardiography was performed on Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) to determine an optimal echocardiographic imaging technique for snakes and to describe the echocardiographic anatomy of the snake heart. Five snakes immobilized with tiletamine/zolazepam and maintained on isoflurane in oxygen were imaged in dorsal recumbency. The portion of the snake's body containing the heart was submerged in warm water to reduce the artifact created by air trapped between and under the scales.

Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of inhaled corticosteroids in relation to efficacy and safety.

There are significant differences in the pharmacokinetic properties of inhaled corticosteroids currently available for use in treatment of asthma and this can result in differences in pharmacodynamic activity. All currently used inhaled corticosteroids are rapidly cleared from the body, but show varying levels of oral bioavailability, with fluticasone propionate having the lowest. Following inhalation, there is also considerable variability in the rate of absorption from the lung, and pulmonary residence times are greatest for fluticasone propionate and triamcinolone acetonide, and shortest for budesonide and flunisolide.

Diagnostic utility of two commonly used ADHD screening measures among special education students.

Objective: To examine the diagnostic utility of two commonly used attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) screening measures in a population of special education students and address whether screener performance is affected by demographic characteristics.

Method: A school district population of special education students was screened for ADHD risk using two parent questionnaires, the 46-item Attention Deficit Disorders Evaluation Scale (ADDES) and the 10-item Conners Abbreviated Symptom Questionnaire (ASQ). All high-risk children and a random sample of low-risk children subsequently underwent DSM-IV-based diagnostic assessment through parental diagnostic interviews (Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version 3.

Relation of perceptual and body image dysfunction to activities of daily living of persons after stroke.

Perceptual and body image disturbances are common sequelae in persons who have had stroke. There is much evidence to substantiate a relationship between impaired perceptual functioning and impaired functioning in activities of daily living (ADL). In regard to body image dysfunction, the linking of unilateral neglect and poor ADL functioning has been widely examined; however, the relationship of other body image disturbances, such as somatoagnosia, to ADL has received little examination.

Critical role of endothelium in sustained arterial contraction during prolonged hypoxia.

Acute anoxia or severe hypoxia causes an initial transient contraction followed by marked relaxation of vascular tissues. We observed a spontaneous gradual sustained contraction of rat aortic rings following relaxation when hypoxia was prolonged. Deendothelialization as well as treatment of the endothelium-intact rings with nitric oxide synthase inhibitors or oxyhemoglobin abolished the late hypoxic contraction despite prolonged hypoxia.

Rat posterior parietal cortex: topography of corticocortical and thalamic connections.

Anatomical and functional findings support the contention that there is a distinct posterior parietal cortical area (PPC) in the rat, situated between the rostrally adjacent hindlimb sensorimotor area and the caudally adjacent secondary visual areas. The PPC is distinguished from these areas by receiving thalamic afferents from the lateral dorsal (LD), lateral posterior (LP), and posterior (Po) nuclei, in the absence of input from the ventrobasal complex (VB) or dorsal lateral geniculate (DLG) nuclei. Behavioral studies have demonstrated that PPC is involved in spatial orientation and directed attention.

Predictors of burnout in critical care nurses.

Objective: To develop a conceptual path model to explain the effects of a set of personal and occupational independent variables and the dependent variables of situational stress, job stress, job satisfaction, and job motivation on burnout among critical care nurses.

Design: A prospective descriptive study using a conceptual path model.

Setting: Nine hospitals in the northeastern, northwestern, north central, and southern regions of Florida.

Soft drugs. 13: Design and evaluation of phenylsuccinic analogs of scopolamine as soft anticholinergics.

Concepts involved in the design of soft drugs (drugs which, after achieving their therapeutic role, are metabolized in a predictable manner and at a controlled rate to non-toxic moieties) have been applied to methscopolamine. Selected aliphatic and cycloaliphatic esters (4a-e) of a hypothetical metabolite (2a) of methscopolamine with a phenylsuccinic acid basic structural moiety were designed and found to have anticholinergic activity and to revert to the original hypothetical metabolite in biological media with fairly short half lives. The pA2 values of the soft drugs were determined and the hypothetical metabolite was found 100 times less potent than the most potent compound (4a) of the series.

The relationship between MMPI cluster membership and diagnostic category in headache patients.

Only one study has examined MMPI cluster profiles in the headache population. The present study expanded on this previous investigation by using a large sample size (N = 485) and a greater number of diagnostic categories. The five MMPI clusters replicated previous findings in the chronic pain literature.

Bluetongue epidemiology in the Caribbean region: serological and entomological findings from a pilot sentinel system in Trinidad and Tobago.

When monitored by the agar gel immunodiffusion test for antibody to bluetongue viruses, a sentinel flock of twenty-five lambs remained seropositive through the year, whereas in a sentinel herd of twenty calves only two individuals seroconverted and these became negative again within 2 months. A light trap operated with the calf herd yielded high numbers of Culicoides insignis Lutz (over 18,000 per trap night) along with C. filariferus Hoffman, C.