Showing papers by "University of Pittsburgh published in 1978"

Normative data on revised Conners Parent and Teacher Rating Scales.

Abstract: Normative data are presented for 570 children on newly revised versions of the Conners Parent and Teacher Rating Scales. Symptom ratings were factor analyzed and structures compared favorably with those obtained using earlier versions of the questionnaires. Interrater correlations (mother-father, parent-teacher) were also reported. Age and sex effects were found to be significant determinants of children's scores, while social class effects were nonsignificant.

Hypophysial responses to continuous and intermittent delivery of hypopthalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone

Abstract: In rhesus monkeys with hypothalamic lesions that abolish gonadotropic hormone release by the pituitary gland, the constant infusion of exogenous gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) fails to restore sustained gonadotropin secretion. In marked contrast, intermittent administration of the synthetic decapeptide once per hour, the physiological frequency of gonadotropin release in the monkeys, reestablishes pituitary gonadotropin secretion. This phenomenon is attributable to the pattern of GnRH delivery rather than to the amounts of this hormone to which the cells of the pituitary are exposed. Moreover, the initiation of continuous GnRH administration in animals with lesions and in which gonadotropin secretion is reestablished by intermittent GnRH replacement can result in a "desensitization" or "down regulation" of the processes responsible for gonadotropin release.

The effect of affect on foreign language learning: a review of the anxiety research

Abstract: Although studies of the relationship between affective factors and language learning proficiency abound in the literature, the evidence to support such a relationship is difficult to interpret. Much of the problem resides in the fact that a wide range of variables are lumped together under the rubric “affect.” An attempt is made to ameliorate this situation by defining affective variables in terms of traditional psychological theory and classifying them as a subset of those variables intrinsic to the learner. The conflicting evidence dealing with one important affective variable, anxiety, is then examined, and it is shown that ambiguous experimental results can be resolved if the distinction between facilitating and debilitating anxiety is drawn. Further classificatory distinctions are discussed from the abundant experimentation undertaken by applied psychologists, and an attempt is made to consider the implications of some of this research for adult language learning–for some of the new methodologies in EFL as well as for future research opportunities.

Frequency of sexual dysfunction in "normal" couples.

Abstract: In analyzing the responses of 100 predominantly white, well educated and happily married couples to a self-report questionnaire, this study examined the frequency of sexual problems experienced and the relations of those problems to sexual satisfaction. Although over 80 per cent of the couples reported that their marital and sexual relations were happy and satisfying, 40 per cent of the men reported erectile or ejaculatory dysfunction, and 63 per cent of the women reported arousal or orgasmic dysfunction. In addition, 50 per cent of the men and 77 per cent of the women reported difficulty that was not dysfunctional in nature (e.g., lack of interest or inability to relax). The number of "difficulties" reported was more strongly and consistently related to overall sexual dissatisfaction than the number of "dysfunctions."

The nature and plausibility of cognitivism

Abstract: Cognitivism in psychology and philosophy is roughly the position that intelligent behavior can (only) be explained by appeal to internal “cognitive processes,” that is, rational thought in a very broad sense. Sections 1 to 5 attempt to explicate in detail the nature of the scientific enterprise that this intuition has inspired. That enterprise is distinctive in at least three ways: It relies on a style of explanation which is different from that of mathematical physics, in such a way that it is not basically concerned with quantitative equational laws; the states and processes with which it deals are “interpreted,” in the sense that they are regarded as meaningful or representational; and it is not committed to reductionism, but is open to reduction in a form different from that encountered in other sciences. Spelling these points out makes it clear that the Cognitivist study of the mind can be rigorous and empirical, despite its unprecedented theoretical form. The philosophical explication has another advantage as well: It provides a much needed framework for articulating questions about whether the Cognitivist approach is right or wrong. The last three sections take that advantage of the account, and address several such questions, pro and con.

Maladaptive cognitive structures in depression.

Abstract: According to the cognitive view, the individual's negative and distorted thinking is the basic psychological problem in the depressive syndrome The distorted cognitions are supported by maladaptive cognitive schemata, which involve immature "either-or" rules of conduct or inflexible and unattainable self-expectations These schemata are probably acquired early in development and, if uncritically carried into adulthood, serve to predispose the individual to depression Since these schemata are long-term identifiable psychological patterns that influence attitude and behavioral responses, they may constitute a cognitive dimension of the depression-prone individual's personality The authors discuss the treatment implications of the cognitive approach to depression

Basic principles of obturator design for partially edentulous patients. Part I: classification.

Abstract: A classification for partially edentulous maxillectomy dental arches is proposed. This classification is based on the frequency of occurrence of maxillary defects in a population of 123 patients.

A Quantitative Analysis of the Physiological Role of Estradiol and Progesterone in the Control of Tonic and Surge Secretion of Luteinizing Hormone in the Rat

Abstract: The implantation of Silastic capsules containing estradiol in oil or crystalline progesterone was used to analyze the physiological role of estradiol and progesterone in the control of tonic and cyclic LH secretion in the rat. Implants were placed subcutaneously immediately after ovariectomy and blood samples collected 3 or 4 days later. Concentrations of LH, estradiol, and progesterone were measured by specific radioimmunoassays and compared with the levels of these hormones during the estrous cycle. In the absence of any progesterone treatment diestrous concentrations of estradiol (up to 23 pg/ml) were unable to inhibit completely the post-castration rise in serum LH levels. Increasing the serum progesterone concentration to the basal level observed on diestrus day 3 (8 ng/ml) had no effect on tonic LH secretion in the absence of estradiol treatment. However, in the presence of this concentration of progesterone, diestrus day 2 levels of estradiol (13 pg/ml) were effective in inhibiting tonic LH secreti...

Cystosarcoma phyllodes: a clinicopathologic analysis of 42 cases.

Abstract: A retrospective clinicopathologic evaluation of 42 patients with cystosarcoma phyllodes was undertaken to determine if tumor size, contour, degree of stromal atypia and mitotic activity were reliable indicators of clinical behavior. Excluding size, the latter three determinants showed a positive correlation with prognosis and served as the basis of a classification in which 18 benign, 5 borderline and 19 malignant cystosarcomas were diagnosed. The tumors occurred in women averaging 44.3 years of age who most often presented with a palpable occasionally painful mass with a median diameter of 5 cm. Excision or simple mastectomy were the more frequent forms of therapy. Local recurrences were experienced by 6 patients and occurred in all 3 categories of tumor. Only malignant neoplasms developed systemic metastases which was observed in 4 patients 3 of which have died. One borderline tumor recurred 14 times and eventually proved fatal as a result of contiguous pulmonary involvement. A plea is made to label the stroma of malignant cystosarcomas as to the cell(s) of origin so future investigators may evaluate the effect of various soft tissue patterns on prognosis.

On the sites of the negative and positive feedback actions of estradiol in the control of gonadotropin secretion in the rhesus monkey.

Abstract: Ovariectomized rhesus monkeys bearing hypothalamic lesions which had abolished endogenous LHRH production, as evidenced by a profound reduction in gonadotropin secretion, but in which LH and FSH secretion was reestablished by a chronic intermittent iv infusion of synthetic LHRH (1 μ/min for 6 min every hour) were used to investigate the sites of the negative and positive feedback actions of estradiol in the control of gonadotropin secretion. The administration of estradiol to such animals, while continuing the LHRH replacement regimen, resulted in a decline in circulating LH and FSH levels, followed by an unambiguous discharge of these hormones. The time course of this biphasic pattern of gonadotropin secretion was remarkably similar to that observed in response to estradiol administration in otherwise intact ovariectomized animals. These results suggest that, in the rhesus monkey, estradiol can exert both its negative and positive feedback actions on gonadotropin secretion at the level of the pituitary g...

Osmotic avoidance defective mutants of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Abstract: A wild-type strain of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been shown to avoid high concentrations of a number of sugars and salts. Individual and population assays for this response were developed and mutants were selected for their inability to avoid high concentrations of fructose or NaCl. Seven nonavoiding mutants representing six complementation groups were isolated and characterized. Genetic studies indicate that the mutants each carry a single recessive mutation responsible for the defective osmotic avoidance behavior. The map locations of the six complementation groups identified by these mutations have been determined. Mutants isolated for their inability to avoid fructose are also unable to avoid NaCl and vice versa. The mutants move normally, exhibit normal touch sensitivity, and, like wild type, follow isotherms in a radial thermal gradient. All of the mutants are at least partially defective in the attraction to sodium chloride exhibited by wild type. None of the mutants is temperature sensitive, and all exhibit defective osmotic avoidance behavior as young L1 larvae. Preliminary anatomical studies indicate selective sensory neuron changes in at least one mutant.

Detection and significance of occult axillary node metastases in patients with invasive breast cancer

Abstract: Blocks of axillary lymph nodes from 78 patients with invasive breast cancer, which after “routine”pathological examination were regarded as negative for metastases, were step-sectioned at 20 u intervals. Occult metastases were detected in 24% of the cases. A significant association between such metastases and a lack of or slight degree of an intraductal carcinomatous component of the dominant cancer was noted. There was no relationship between occult metastases and 15 other histopathological and 3 clinical features investigated, including an average 5 year survival rate. Similarly there was no correlation between any of the possible discriminants investigated in the 24% of patients who have died of their diseases or are living with recurrence regardless of the presence of occult metastases. Factors accounting for the lack of universal survival in patients with Stage I (and those with occult metastases that might be designated as Stage 1 1/2) remain enigmatic. It is concluded that attempts to detect occult metastases by extending histopathological methods may be more academic than practical or therapeutically significant. Cancer 42:2025–2031, 1978.

A Simultaneous Equation Model of Corporate Strategy

Abstract: Over the past decade strategy has become a concept of value to management as it relates the firm to the threats and opportunities of an increasingly turbulent environment. However, empirical tests of the validity of the strategy construct have been limited, as have been the managerial applications of the models used to test the construct. Early research efforts, both analytical and empirical, have shown that quantitative modeling of strategy could be a tool of value in helping top management achieve the goal is of the firm [Gershefski, George W. 1969. Building a corporate financial model. Harvard Business Rev. July--August 61--72; Guth, W. D. 1972. Product differentiation and concentration in the brewing industry. J. Business Policy.2 3 31--36.]. Prior research has been limited to single equation models linking strategy and environment to only one performance goal, profitability. While there is some controversy about it, complex organizations set multiple, and sometimes conflicting goals, creating a need for models that car; encompass more than a single performance goal. Moreover, the interactive effects of strategic variables governing the efficiency of daily operations, suggests that single equation models of strategy cannot capture the complexity of the modern firm. This research explores the use of a simultaneous equation model of corporate strategy as a means of overcoming the multiple performance goal problem, while capturing the complex patterns of the strategic, operating, and environmental variables that influence goal achievement. The difficulties of estimating the model, including the problems of sample heterogeneity so important to this type of work, are identified and discussed using data and results taken from the U.S. brewing industry.

Pathologic findings from the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast Project (Protocol No. 4). V. Significance of axillary nodal micro- and macrometastases.

Abstract: Two‐hundred seventy eight of 565 patients treated by radical mastectomy for invasive breast cancer in a prospective, randomized clinical trial exhibited axillary nodal metastases. Patients in whom the largest nodal metastasis measured ≤2 mm in its greatest diameter were regarded as having micrometastases and those in whom the lesions were ≤2 mm as having macrometastases. Contingency table analysis disclosed that the group with macrometastases had a greater likelihood that they would be clinically assessed as stage II, their primary tumors would be ≤2 cm, they would have 4 or more positive nodes, extension of the metastasis through the nodal capsule would have occurred and uninvolved nodes would exhibit a germinal center predominance pattern. Life table analyses failed to reveal any significant difference in survival between patients with micrometastases and those without nodal metastases although both of these groups exhibited significantly greater survival than patients with macrometastases. On the other hand, treatment failure rates were more comparable in patients with micrometastases to those with macrometastases rather than absent nodal involvement. Multivariate analysis revealed that these apparent effects on survival and treatment failure rates in patients with micro and macrometastases were more directly related to the number of nodes involved with metastases rather than the size of the latter. A subset of patients with micrometastases in whom the metastases measured ≥1.3 mm was identified who exhibited survival and treatment failure rates similar to those of the negative node patients. The data, although based on a relatively small sample size, suggest metastases ≥1.3 mm may exert an influence independent of number of nodes involved. The excellent prognosis of patients with these occult nodal metastases (≥1.3 mm) warrants the designation of the stage of their disease as 1 1/2. Cancer 42:2032–2038, 1978.

Test-Taking and the Stability of Adjustment Scales Can We Assess Patient Deterioration?

Abstract: Nonpatient responses to five major adjustment scales were examined at three time-points, two weeks apart. There was no evidence for a systematic increase in adjustment scores due to completing the instruments. Internal consistency coefficients and test-retest stability coefficients for the five adjustment scales show them to have utility for assessing patient groups. Only the SCL-90 showed promise for allowing reliable assessment of individual change over time. All five scales significantly discriminate patient groups from groups of nonpatients. Further research is needed to clarify present results, to determine the clinical significance of various magnitude changes on the scales, and to develop more specific measures of adjustment and symptomatology.

The Site of the Positive Feedback Action of Estradiol in the Rat

Abstract: The bilateral stereotaxic implantation of estradiol into the brain of acutely ovariectomized rats was used to determine the hypothalamic sites of the positive feedback action of this steroid. The transport of estradiol from the site of implantation to the adenohypophysis was assessed by monitoring pituitary estradiol concentrations by radioimmunoassay. These concentrations were compared with the pituitary estradiol levels associated with LH release in the intact and estrogen-treated ovariectomized rat. The estradiol concentration in the pituitary increased gradually from 0.2 to 1.0 pg/mg during diestrus day 1 and day 2 of the estrous cycle and then showed a rapid rise to a plateau of 2.8 pg/mg on the morning of diestrus day 3. The pituitary estradiol concentration was maintained at this level until the initiation of the proestrous LH surge and then fell rapidly to diestrous levels. A similar concentration of estradiol in the pituitary (2.9–3.4 pg/mg) was associated with LH release in ovariectomized animal...

Serum LH and FSH following Passive Immunization Against Circulating Testosterone in the Intact Male Rat and in Orchidectomized Rats Bearing Subcutaneous Silastic Implants of Testosterone

Abstract: Subcutaneous Silastic implants were designed to release quantities of testosterone approximating that produced by the rat testis and appropriate testosterone treatment was found to produce a physiologic inhibition of both LH and FSH secretion in orchidectomized rats. In rats bearing such testosterone implants, intravenous injection of an ovine anti-testosterone serum (0.3 cc) was sufficient to completely abolish the inhibitory effects of the testosterone implant for a period of 3 days as judged by the development of typical post-castration increases in serum LH and FSH. When this dose of antiserum was administered to intact adult male rats, the increases in serum LH on days 1, 2, and 3 post-injection were approximately 19%, 15%, and 11% of those observed in untreated castrates. Increases in serum FSH in antiserum injected rats followed a pattern similar to that for serum LH but the response was slightly greater (19%, 23%, and 22% of the castrate response) and there was no indication of a decreasing effect...

The arcuate nucleus and the control of gonadotropin and prolactin secretion in the female rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta).

Abstract: Attempts were made to destroy selectively the arcuate nucleus with radiofrequency current in adult female rhesus monkeys as a first step in identifying the areas of the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) that are responsible for the neural control of gonadotropin secretion in this species. Extensive or complete destruction of the arcuate region was produced in three animals and in two of these the lesion was confined primarily to the arcuate region and the dorsal aspect of the posterior median eminence. These lesions resulted in the cessation of LH and FSH secretion and blocked the positive feedback action of estradiol on gonadotropin release but did not appear to influence grossly basal thyroid and adrenocortical function, or to abolish GH discharge in response to insulin hypoglycemia. Adenohypophysial infarcts were not observed and exogenous LHRH and TRH induced marked discharges of the appropriate anterior pituitary hormones. In two additional animals with large hypothalamic lesions, destruction of the arcuate region was incomplete. In this group only partial inhibition of gonadotropin secretion was observed. LH and FSH secretion did not appear to be influenced in one animal bearing a large MBH lesion that entirely spared the arcuate region. Although serum prolactin remained at pre-lesion control levels after placement of the two relatively discrete lesions confined to the arcuate region, unambiguous increases in the secretion of this hormone were observed when the area of destruction encompassed tissue anterior and/or dorsal to the arcuate region. These observations suggest that the arcuate region is the primary structure mediating the hypothalamic control of gonadotropin secretion in the rhesus monkey. They also suggest that, in this species, the regions of the MBH involved with the regulation of gonadotropin release and those which control prolactin secretion are anatomically distinct.

On the nature of stress fractures.

Abstract: It is felt that stress fractures are caused by excessive, repetitive muscle forces acting across the affected bone. These fractures should be suspected in participants of athletic endeavors who present with a history of persistent, focal, activity-related pain regardless of their stage of physical conditioning. Associated physical findings are localized tenderness and swelling without evidence of a generalized systemic response. Bone scans and serial roentgenograms including specialized views may be required for documentation. Limitation of the athletic activity is the hallmark of the treatment program.

Comparison of Four Instruments Measuring Conflict Behavior

Abstract: Test-retest reliabilities, internal consistencies, and convergent test validities were examined for four measures of interpersonal behavior in handling conflict. Subjects were 86 graduate students ...

Basic principles of obturator design for partially edentulous patients. Part II: Design principles

Abstract: A classification for partially edentulous maxillectomy patients has been proposed, and a suggested design for each class is discussed. A simplified approach to the planning of resective surgery and a guide for the design of the maxillary obturator prosthesis have been presented.

Halohydrocarbon Synthesis by Bromoperoxidase

Abstract: An enzyme extracted from marine red algae, Bonnemaisonia hamifera, is capable of incorporating bromine into a number of organic substrates in the pH range 5 to 8. At pH 7.3, incubation of partially purified preparations of bromoperoxidase with hydrogen peroxide, bromide ion, and 3-oxooctanoic acid leads to the formation of three volatile brominated hydrocarbons: dibromomethane, bromoform, and 1-pentyl bromide. The presence of significant quantities of halometabolites including volatile halohydrocarbons in marine organisms, ocean waters, and the upper atmosphere may result from peroxidase-catalyzed halogenation reactions.

The R&D/marketing interface: Results from an empirical study of innovation projects

Abstract: Explores the effect of organizational factors which characterize the interface between marketing and R&D, with respect to the innovation process. The basic premise is that the degree of collaboration/integration between functional units, such as marketing and R&D, has a profound influence on the success/failure outcome of innovation projects in industrial settings. Several important variables which influence the quality of the R&D/marketing interface are defined. These variables are related in an overall model which identifies several actions managers can take to improve the quality of the interface.