Showing papers by "University of Connecticut published in 1987"

Clinical Measurement of Range of Motion Review of Goniometry Emphasizing Reliability and Validity

Abstract: Clinical measurement of range of motion is a fundamental evaluation procedure with ubiquitous application in physical therapy. Objective measurements of ROM and correct interpretation of the measurement results can have a substantial impact on the development of the scientific basis of therapeutic interventions. The purpose of this article is to review the related literature on the reliability and validity of goniometric measurements of the extremities. Special emphasis is placed on how the reliability of goniometry is influenced by instrumentation and procedures, differences among joint actions and body regions, passive versus active measurements, intratester versus intertester measurements, and different patient types. Our discussion of validity encourages objective interpretation of the meaning of ROM measurements in light of the purposes and the limitations of goniometry. We conclude that clinicians should adopt standardized methods of testing and should interpret and report goniometric results as ROM measurements only, not as measurements of factors that may affect ROM.

Psychopathology as a predictor of treatment outcome in alcoholics.

Abstract: • We performed a one-year follow-up study of 266 alcoholics who had received extensive psychiatric assessment, including diagnosis with the National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule andDSM-IIIcriteria, during their index treatment episode. The aims were to (1) evaluate the relationship between additionalDSM-IIIdiagnoses in alcoholics and outcome at follow-up, (2) assess the relative prognostic power of different ways of measuring psychopathology by comparing categoricalDSM-IIIdiagnoses and a global symptom severity measure, and (3) assess whether ratings of psychopathology add to the prognostic power of an alcoholdependence measure. While coexistent psychiatric diagnoses generally predicted poorer treatment outcome, there were significant interactions in the relationship between diagnoses and treatment outcome for men and women. For men, having an additional diagnosis of major depression, antisocial personality, or drug abuse was associated with poorer outcome. For women, having major depression was associated with a better outcome in drinking-related measures, while antisocial personality and drug abuse were associated with poorer prognosis. The value of determining psychiatric diagnosis was supported by covariance analyses that suggested that prognostic significance of specific disorders was not accounted for by general psychopathology or general dependence dimensions.

Merger strategies and stockholder value

Abstract: Acquisition literature suggests a relationship between stockholder gains and the relatedness of merging firms. This notion is tested by classifying mergers into four relatedness categories and by using measures of stockholder value as developed in the literature on capital markets. In all, stock returns of 439 acquiring firms in 1031 large mergers are examined, as are stock returns of 340 large acquired firms. The findings show that mergers lead to permanent gains in stockholder value for both acquiring and acquired firms' stockholders, but they do not support the popular prescription: ‘All things being equal, some product and market relatedness is better than none.’

Verbal report methods in clinical research on alcoholism: response bias and its minimization.

Abstract: Verbal report procedures, such as interviews, tests and questionnaires, have become the dominant method to obtain clinical data on alcohol abuse and its modification through treatment. The extent to which this method provides reliable and valid information for research purposes, and how its accuracy and usefulness can be enhanced, is examined. A review of methodological studies in the alcohol literature shows that although the information obtained from alcoholics and heavy drinkers tends to be reliable and valid, there can be considerable variability in accuracy, depending on the sensitivity of the information sought, the specificity of the validation criteria, the personal characteristics of the respondents and the demand characteristics of the task. It is suggested that the question of whether verbal report procedures are valid or invalid is less important than the issue of how they can be improved to the point that confidence can be placed in their findings. To facilitate this process, methodological t...

Disposable piezoelectric polymer bandage for percutaneous delivery of drugs and method for such percutaneous delivery (a)

Abstract: A bandage assembly for percutaneous administration of a medicament generates sonic vibrations to produce sonophoresis. The assembly has a bandage member with a cavity containing a medicament and having a piezoelectric polymer element extending thereacross. An sonic generator is coupled to the piezoelectric polymer element to supply it with energy to produce sonic vibrations perpendicular to the skin to drive the medicament into the pores. A second piezoelectric polymer element may surround the cavity to generate vibrations parallel to the skin to stretch the pores.

Parathyroid hormone-related protein of malignancy: active synthetic fragments.

Abstract: Peptides corresponding to the amino-terminal region of the parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy were synthesized. A 34-amino acid peptide, PTHrP(1-34), was two to four times more potent than bovine or human PTH(1-34) in bioassays promoting the formation of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) and plasminogen activator activity in osteogenic sarcoma cells and adenylate cyclase activity in chick kidney membranes. Like parathyroid hormone itself, in which the activity resides in the first 34 residues, PTHrP peptides of less than 30 residues from the amino terminus showed substantially reduced activity. PTHrP(1-34) had only 6% of the potency of bovine PTH(1-34) in promoting bone resorption in vitro. PTHrP(1-34) strongly promoted the excretion of cAMP and phosphorus and reduced the excretion of calcium in the isolated, perfused rat kidney consistent with the symptoms seen in malignant hypercalcemia.

The Fall of the House of Labor: The Workplace, the State, and American Labor Activism, 1865–1925

Abstract: Acknowledgments Abbreviations used in text and notes Introduction 1. The manager's brain under the workman's cap 2. The common laborer 3. The operative 4. The art of cutting metals 5. White shirts and superior intelligence 6. 'Our time ... belives in change' 7. Patriots or paupers 8. 'This great struggle for democracy' 9. 'A maximum of publicity with a minimum of interference' Index.

Prediction of the glass transition temperature of polymers: A model based on the principle of corresponding states

Abstract: The application of corresponding state principles to describe the properties of polymers is implicit in many of the fundamental studies of polymeric behavior. The seminal works of Prigogine, Hildebrand, Eyring, Flory, Gibbs, and DiMarzio in which multidimensional lattice representations and refined statistical mechanical approaches have been used are the basis for much of today's understanding of the thermodynamic behavior of polymers and their solutions. In this work the lattice energy of a polymer is defined in terms of reduced molecular parameters, and it is assumed that all polymers with the same functional form for their lattice energies will be in corresponding states. A reduced second order transition temperature is defined relative to a characteristic temperature T* = sϵ*/2kv* c, where the molecular parameters refer to the properties of the repeating segments of the polymer chain. Equations are derived that express the effects of molecular weight, plasticization, degree of crosslinking, and copolymerization on the second order (i.e., glass) transition temperature. In their limits, the equations are shown to reduce in form to equations derivable from free volume theory. They are also used to analyze successfully a variety of glass transition temperature data available in the literature on homogeneous uncrosslinked and crosslinked polymers, plasticized polymers, and random copolymers.

Identification of a juvenile hormone-like compound in a crustacean.

Abstract: Juvenile hormone (JH) has central roles in the regulation of insect development and reproduction but has not previously been identified in other arthropod classes. The hemolymph of a crustacean, Libinia emarginata (Leach), has now been analyzed for JH-like compounds. Samples contained 0.003 to 0.030 nanogram of JH III per milliliter and 10 to 50 nanograms of methyl farnesoate per milliliter; methyl farnesoate is a compound structurally related to JH III that has JH bioactivity. Several tissues were examined for synthesis and secretion of JH-like compounds. Of these tissues, only the mandibular organs produced and secreted JH III and methyl farnesoate. However, microchemical analysis revealed that this JH III was racemic, and thus likely an artifactual oxidation product of methyl farnesoate. Secretion of methyl farnesoate was related to reproduction in females, with the highest rates observed in Libinia near the end of the ovarian cycle when oocyte growth and vitellogenesis are greatest. These results indicate that JH-like compounds such as methyl farnesoate have regulatory roles in crustaceans.

Finite element handbook

Abstract: Finite element handbook , Finite element handbook , مرکز فناوری اطلاعات و اطلاع رسانی کشاورزی

Sample Size Determination for Some Common Nonparametric Tests

Abstract: The article discusses the problem of determining the number of observations required by some common nonparametric tests, so that the tests have power at least 1 – β against alternatives that differ sufficiently from the hypothesis being tested. It is shown that the number of observations depends on certain simple probabilities. A method is suggested for fixing the value of the appropriate probability when determining sample size.

Story grammar ability in children with and without language disorder: story generation, story retelling, and story comprehension.

Abstract: Twenty language-impaired and unimpaired children ages 9:0 to 11:4 participated in three story tasks. The children generated three original stories, retold two adventure stories, and then answered t...

Degenerative change in symptomatic scaphoid nonunion

Abstract: A retrospective radiographic analysis of 64 patients with symptomatic scaphoid nonunions without previous surgical treatment was accomplished. The results showed a high frequency of degenerative changes occurring in a predictable sequence. For nonunions of 4 years duration, 75 % of patients had radioscaphoid changes, and for those of 9 years duration 60 % of the patients had midcarpal changes. The pattern of arthritis in scaphoid nonunion is that of scapholunate advanced collapse (SLAC) wrist resulting from rotary subluxation of the distal scaphoid fragment. The radius-proximal scaphoid fragment joint and the radiolunate joint were consistently spared from degenerative changes, even with severe arthritis. Instability was progressive and associated with an earlier onset of arthritis. Patients with symptomatic scaphoid nonunions appear to have a significant likelihood of arthritis developing.

Ovarian tumors of the hen.

Abstract: Present available information regarding ovarian tumors in hens is incomplete in most aspects, and this lack of knowledge hampers use of hens as models for study of ovarian cancer. A study of 466 he...

Modelling collective belief

Abstract: What is it for a group to believe something? A summative account assumes that for a group to believe that p most members of the group must believe that p. Accounts of this type are commonly proposed in interpretation of everyday ascriptions of beliefs to groups. I argue that a nonsummative account corresponds better to our unexamined understanding of such ascriptions. In particular I propose what I refer to as the ‘joint acceptance’ model of group belief. I argue that group beliefs according to the joint acceptance model are important phenomena whose aetiology and development require investigation. There is an analogous phenomenon of social or group preference, which social choice theory tends to ignore.

We Can't Change What We Don't Recognize: Understanding the Special Needs of Gifted Females

Abstract: In this article, an overives of some of the major issues, questions and problems related to gifted females will be presented. These issues include the underachievement of gifted females; creative productivity of females; male dominance in mathematics and science; cultural stereotyping, sex roles and mixed messages; lack of planning; the perfection complex and the imposter syndrome; concerns about counseling and special populations, Research related to the issues of ability, achievement, personality, social and environmental pressures related to gender will be briefly discussed and suggestions for future research directions will be made.

Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome-type II: multiple congenital anomalies with male pseudohermaphroditism and frequent early lethality.

Abstract: In 1964, Smith et al described a syndrome of microcephaly, growth and mental retardation, unusual facial appearance, syndactyly of toes 2 and 3, and genital abnormalities. Major structural malformations and early death have been uncommon in the many subsequent literature reports. We report on 19 infants with a phenotype we propose to call Smith-Lcmli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS)-Type II, in which major structural abnormalities, male pseudohermaphroditism, and early lethality are common. Of these 19 patients, 18 had postaxial hexaclactyly, 16 had congenital heart defect, 13 had cleft palate, and 10 had cataracts. Unusual findings seen in those patients at autopsy included Hirschsprung “disease” in five patients, unilobatod lungs in six, large adrenals in four, and pancreatic islet cell hypciplasia in three. Comparison of our cases to 19 similar literature cases suggests the existence of a distinct phenotype that may be separate from SLOS as originally described. It is also inherited as an autosomal recessive, as documented by occurrence in one pair of sibs in this study and recurrence in three reported families.

Novel reinforced polymers based on blends of polystyrene and a thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer

Abstract: A thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (LCP), when added to polystyrene (PS), can function as both a processing aid and a reinforcing filler. Thermal, rheological, and mechanical properties of the pure components and blends containing up to 10 percent LCP are reported. The LCP used is immiscible with PS, and when an extensional component of flow is present during processing, the LCP forms an elongated fibrous phase oriented in the flow direction. This oriented phase lubricates the melt, substantially lowering the viscosity. When the processed blend is cooled, the dispersed fibrous LCP phase is preserved in the solidified material. The LCP microfibers behave like short reinforcing fibers to improve the mechanical properties of the blend; for example, at an LCP concentration of 4.5 percent, the modulus is increased about 40 percent vs. pure PS.

A Choice Sets Model of Retail Selection

Abstract: The authors present a method that retail managers can use to assess competitive effectiveness and identify opportunities for improvement as consumers move through the choice process. The basis of t...

Multisensor tracking of a maneuvering target in clutter

Abstract: An algorithm is presented for tracking a highly maneuvering target using two different sensors, a radar and an infrared sensor, assumed to operate in a cluttered environment. The nonparametric probabilist data association filter (PDAF) has been adapted for the multisensor (MS) case, yielding the MSPDAF. To accommodate the fact that the target can be highly maneuvering, the interacting multiple model (IMM) approach is used. The results of single-model-based filters and of the IMM/MSPDAF algorithm with two and three models are presented and compared. The IMM has been shown to be able to adapt itself to the type of motion exhibited by the target in the presence of heavy clutter. It yielded high accuracy in the absence of acceleration and kept the target in track during the high acceleration periods. >

Merger Strategies and Capital Market Risk

Abstract: The literature on corporate diversification suggests a relationship between the relatedness of merging firms and risk. We tested that notion by classifying 297 large mergers into four relatedness c...