Showing papers by "University of Texas at Arlington published in 1981"

Anaerobic Threshold Determination by Blood Lactate and Myoelectric Signals

Abstract: This study examined the potential use of myoelectric signal analysis for determination of anaerobic threshold (AT). Ten college students performed incremental exercise on a bicycle ergometer during which blood samples from either the brachial or radial artery were drawn and corresponding intergrated electromyogram (IEMG) and power spectra also were recorded. Blood AT was determined by observing the changes in arterial blood lactate, Po2 Pco2, HCO3-, and pH. EMG AT was determined by the non-linear increase in IEMG and abrupt increase in frequency band width at 70% of the peak frequency (FRQ70%) which could represent the most active frequency band. The results indicated that a significant increase in FRQ70% occurred immediately after the occurrence of blood AT (p less than 0.05). However, no significant increase could be found in peak frequency. Regression analyses revealed that EMG AT Vo2 correlated significantly with blood AT Vo2 (r = 0.921, p less than 0.001) and with gas exchange AT Vo2 (r = 0.921, p less than 0.001). It was concluded that analysis of myoelectric signals, which reflect motor unit recruitment and discharge frequency, could provide a non-invasive estimate of AT.

Band structure, Fermi surface, Compton profile, and optical conductivity of paramagnetic chromium

Abstract: A self-consistent linear-combination-of-Gaussian-orbitals band-structure calculation for paramagnetic chromium employing a local exchange approximation has been performed. The density of states, Fermi surface, and x-ray form factors have been obtained and compared with available experimental data. New interpretations of some of the neutron scattering data are made, with good agreement in general for all the data. The Compton profiles and the optical conductivity have also been obtained using the full matrix element $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{k}}$ dependence in Brillouin-zone integrations. Comparison with experiment is made for both, and correlation with experiment is good if appropriate angular averages or lifetime effects are included.

Characteristics of sexual and asexual resting cyst (statospore) formation in dinobryon cylindricum imhof (chrysophyta)1

Abstract: The reproductive significance of siliceous cysts (statospores) produced by the common vernal chrysophyte Dinobryon cylindricum Imhof has been investigated under defined culture conditions. Three types of statospores have thus far been induced in culture: 1) uninucleate, asexual; 2) binucleate, asexual (potentially autogamic); 3) binucleate, sexual (zygotic). The production of each type of cyst responds differently to an array of nutrient deficiencies (P, N, vitamins, micrometals). An individual clone may be capable of participating in the production of all or only a subset of these types of resting cysts. All D. cylindricum statospores are morphologically identical regardless of their reproductive significance. Sexual reproduction leading to zygotic statospore formation is anisogamous, heterothallic, and involves a gametogenic hormone (erogen) that is apparently continuously released from female clones. Only a single bipolar mating group is documented here and clonal compatibility varies considerably within the mating group. The dynamics of encystment for each type of statospore has been determined relative to the growth of the vegetative cell population. Statospores may be produced either during the exponential phase (intrinsic encystment) or stationary phase (extrinsic encystment) of culture growth depending on the clones involved. The effect of both asexual and sexual resting cyst production on the net growth rate and dynamics of natural chrysophyte populations is discussed. Statospores appear to represent a more flexible reproductive strategy than the resistant zygospores produced by the other common groups of planktonic microalgae.

A scale to measure love addiction

Abstract: In a recent review of the literature on love relationships, Burgess and Husron ( 1 ) point out rhat no "systematic artempt has been made to classify relationships according to closeness." Some preliminary classifications have been developed which, e.g., cite movement in relationships towards such characteristics as cooperative-friendly, equality, intensity and emotional-informal ( 5 ) . Such data should be interpreted cautiously ( 1 ) because, for example, "relationships not ordinarily seen as intimate sometimes are, and relationships that are typically viewed as intimate sometimes are not." Conflict and hostility may characterize many close relationships as much as cooperation and friendship; "Given the degree of interdependence involved, almost all, or at least many, interrelationships have more conflict than perceptual models are likely to attribute to them" ( 1 ) . One source of conflict is a style of loving variously called "love addiction" ( 4 ) , "mania" ( 3 ) , and "possessive" ( 2 ) . The term "love addiction" will be used here. Among the defining characteristics of this love style are: ( a ) wanting the parrner to fill a felt void in one's life, ( b ) wanting the reassurance of constancy of the partner, ( c ) feeling rhar the partner is necessary to make life bearable, and ( d ) feeling that the sole source of one's gratification, and pleasure is one's partner. It is presumed that such expectations by one or both partners could be burdensome and conflictual. Few empirical studies, however, have focused on the classification or meanings of love addiction. This article describes results of a research project that tests a scale developed to measure addiction as a part of one's love style. Fifty-eight upper-level undergraduate students enrolled in sociology classes at two universities in the Southwest participated; 38 were female. The average age was 28 yr. Twenty-five were single (never married), 19 married, 2 engaged, 8 divorced, 1 separated, and 3 in "living-together" arrangements. Forty-three respndenrs answered the survey with regard to a current relationship, 14 with regard to a previous relationship. The average duration of relationship was 48 mo. The "Love Scale, as a two-page questionnaire developed by the authors, has 20 randomly distributed close-ended questions. (Example: "Soon after I met my partner, I knew this person was my 'other half' and made my life complete.") Nine irems were reverse-ordered to prevent a response set. The irems were scored on a Lihrt-cype scale where 1 represented Strongly Agree, 2 Agree, 3 Disagree, 4 Strongly Disagree, and 5 Not Applicable. Approximately 15 min. were required for completion of the scale. If not in a current relationship, the respondents were asked to respond to the scale with regard to a previous relationship. The scale was administered to each of the respondents twice during July and August, 1980 with a 2-wk. period intervening. The temporal stability of the Love Scale was tested. The mean score for Time 1 was 2.23 (SD 1.54). The mean score for Time 2 was 2.11 (SD 1.45). A correlation of .99 was generated for the scores at Times 1 and 2, indicating high reliability ( f i = .0001). Funher development of the scale, such as a validity test with a population behaviorally defined as "love addicts," is appropriate.

Structural probability bounds for the strong Pareto law

Abstract: By using the structural density function (Fraser 1979, Ch. 7) of the parameters of a Pareto distribution, the structural distribution function of the strong Pareto law is derived. Its fractiles have been evaluated numerically for special cases, and the results are displayed through graphs from which structural one-sided probability bounds may be found. It is shown that these graphs may also be used to find structural tolerance bounds for the Pareto distribution.

Quantification of de novo central nervous system IgG measles antibody synthesis in SSPE.

Abstract: De novo central nervous system (CNS) IgG measles antibody synthesis rate was determined in two patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) Cerebrospinal fluid and sera were incubated with different concentrations of measles virus to determine maximum absorption of IgG The difference in IgG concentration before and after incubation was considered the amount of measles-specific IgG antibody Various tests were done to assess the immunological specificity of the absorption test Using our empirical formula, the de novo CNS IgG measles antibody synthesis rate for one patient with SSPE was 57 mg/day, or 59% of the total CNS IgG synthesis rate; for the other it was 145 mg/day, or 82% Daily determination of CNS measles antibody by empirical formula provides a quantification of humoral immunity in SSPE that corrects for both passage of measles antibody across a damaged blood-brain barrier and the effect of an elevated blood antibody level

Decreased Verbal Memory Associated with Anticholinergic Treatment in Parkinson's Disease Patients

Abstract: The effects of chronic administration of the anticholinergic agent, benztropine mesylate (CogentinTM), on specific verbal memory were investigated as part of a placebo-controlled randomized double-blind crossover study to determine the clinical efficiency of CogentinTM as an adjuvant therapy with SinemetTM in Parkinson's disease. Twenty-nine males with clinically definite idiopathic Parkinson's disease participated in the trial. They were tested for acquisition of new word lists, and on four other cognitive tests before, during, between, and after two 10-week trial periods when they received either increasing doses of CogentinTM (maximum 2 mg) or placebo while on a maintenance dose of SinemetTM. Patients showed a statistically significant decrease (5-10%) in word list acquisition while on CogentinTM. The anticholinergic memory effect was unrelated to the degree of improvec clinical efficacy of CogentinTM for Parkinsonism, and to initial word list acquisition ability. Verbal memory findings indicate that c...

Optimal Reactive Power Planning

Abstract: This paper discusses development of a computer algorithm which can select one overall reactive power installation pattern that will satisfy system performance constraints for both base case and contingency conditions. The cost of installation and base case losses are minimized. In addition, existing controllers are fully utilized prior to any addition of new installation. The computing algorithm employs a reduced gradient method of optimization in conjunction with simplex and integer routines to solve the reactive power allocation problem. The resulting program has been tested on a sample Consolidated Edison system.

Multiplex control systems: Stochastic stability and dynamic reliability

Abstract: The problem of dynamic reliability of multiplex control systems under Markovian structural perturbations is reformulated, analyzed, and resolved in the context of stochastic stability and Liapunov's direct method The failures of controllers are identified as states of a Markov process, and stability conditions are provided for a reliable performance of the multiplex control system alternating between operating (stable) and failure (unstable) structural configurations

Contrast sensitivities through spectacles and soft contact lenses

Abstract: Contrast sensitivity function (CSF) measurements were made on nine subjects who wore a spectacle lens on one eye and a soft contact lens on the other eye continuously for 18 hr. The functions were the same for the two types of correction and did not become worse over time. Contrary to an earlier report by Applegate and Massof (1975), there was no evidence of a visual decrement caused by the wearing of soft contact lenses or from the moderately prolonged use of a contact lens. A major difference between our study and theirs was that none of our subjects had more than 0.12 D of astigmatism, whereas their soft contact lens subjects had from 0.75 to 1.00 D of astigmatism. Thus, impairments that were previously noted by soft lens wearers may be limited to astigmatic subjects. In addition, no evidence was found that occasional 18-hr use of soft contact lenses has any measurable, immediate effects on visual acuity as inferred from contrast thresholds.

Interfield Hybrid Coding of Component Color Television Signals

Abstract: Hybrid coding of color television images at broadcast standards is investigated. This involves two-dimensional discrete cosine transform (2-D DCT) of each field, followed by the differential pulse code modulation (DPCM) between successive fields. Two 22frame sequences of "Water Skier" and "Wheel of Fortune" in component form, i.e., luminance Y and chrominance I and Q , were utilized as the database. A statistical study of the prediction error in the 2-D DCT domain is carried out. Three different algorithms for the 2-D DCT system are simulated and analyzed. In the first algorithm, optimum (nonuniform) quantizers are used in DPCM loops followed by fixed-wordlength coders. Uniform quantizers along with variablewordlength coders are implemented in the second system. The performances of different deterministic coders are investigated and compared with Huffman coders. The third scheme is an adaptive system. In this system each 8 × 8 block is divided into four subblocks. The activity of each subblock is monitored and when it exceeds some threshold, the subblock is considered to be spatially active. More bits are assigned to active subblocks and the ranges of corresponding quantizers are expanded. The prediction error of the dc coefficient is monitored to determine the temporal activity of a block. For a temporally active block, the number of bits assigned to the two lower frequency subblocks is increased. Performance of these three systems for unmatched statistics and in the case of a scene change are studied. Mean square error (MSE) between the original and reconstructed images, bit rate, entropy, essential maximum, and other parameters are utilized as the performance criteria. Also, a subjective evaluation of the processed images is carried out. It is shown that the interfield adaptive hybrid coding of color TV signals in component form results in significant savings in bit rates for transmission over a digital link.

Multiple sclerosis serum and cerebrospinal fluid immunoglobulin binding to Fc receptors of oligodendrocytes.

Abstract: Suspensions of bovine oligodendrocytes were used to study the immunofluorescent staining properties of sera from multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and normal individuals. All sera (14 MS patients, 8 patients with other neurological diseases, and 11 normal individuals) showed positive oligodendrocyte staining by indirect immunofluorescence. Staining persisted after extensive absorption of sera with bovine liver to remove nonspecific binding. Similar findings were obtained for cerebrospinal fluid from all 5 MS patients as well as all 5 patients with other neurological diseases. In additional studies to determine if binding is mediated by the Fc fragment of IgG, results were: (1) ultracentrifuged normal and MS sera failed to react with oligodendrocytes, (2) positive staining with oligodendrocytes was observed after heat aggregation of IgG, (3) ox red blood cells, complexed with antibody, reacted with oligodendrocytes to produce strong rosette formation, and (4) the rosette formation could be blocked by prior treatment of oligodendrocytes with heat-aggregated IgG. The studies fail to support a previous claim for specific binding of immunoglobulins to oligodendrocytes in MS. However, they confirm and extend previous findings that the binding of IgG to oligodendrocytes may not necessarily be an antigen-antibody reaction. Therefore, adherence reactions with a putative antibody must exclude Fc-mediated binding.

Dissent in Organizations

Abstract: Dissent in organizations is not always tolerated and is rarely encouraged. Lack of dissent can lead to managerial miscalculations and major strategic and tactical errors. In this article, I examine the use of countervailing views in religious, government, and business organizations, and across cultural lines, as a means of improving management decision making.

Women, Careers, and Family Generational and Life-Cycle Effects on Achievement Orientation

Abstract: examined with a nonprobability sample of 1,120 women contacting a university-affiliated Center for Continuing Education of Women. Levels of achievement orientation are stable, but career and family attainment values vary, with age and life-cycle stage. Career values are more likely to be high among women who are young, single, or mothers of older children; family values are more likely t o be high among women who are older. married. or mothers of preschoolers. Among young married mothers, the percentage of women with high career values sharply outweighs the percentage employed full-time, suggesting family life-cycle constraints on the expression of achievement orientation.

Variability in letter-matching asymmetry.

Abstract: Pairs of letters presented simultaneously and matched for identity have been reported to show opposite visual field superiorities, depending on whether the match must be made along a physical or along a name dimension (Davis & Schmit, 1973; Geffen, Bradshaw, & Nettleton, 1972; Umilta, Sava, & Salmaso, 1980). Thus, physically identical pairs (e.g., AA) are reported to show significant left visual field (LVF) advantage in response time, while nominally identical pairs (e.g., Aa) reportedly show right visual field (RVF) advantage. Under current interpretations of VF asymmetry, these differences are taken to reflect the operation of right-hemisphere visuospatial and left-hemisphere verbal processes, respectively. The first seven of the present experiments in lettermatching were conducted several years ago while the author was affiliated with the University of Oregon. They have not been reported prior to this time because it had appeared that interest in the paradigm, at least from a hemispheric standpoint, had declined following a flurry of research in the years 19701977 (Cohen, 1972, 1973; Davis & Schmit, 1973; Gazzaniga, 1970; Geffen et al., 1972; Green, 1977; Hellige, 1975, 1976; Lefton & Haber, 1974; Levy, 1974; Wilkins& Stewart, 1974; Green & Well, Note 1). However, recently there has been a resurgence of interest (Hellige, Cox, & Litvac, 1979; Ledlow, Swanson, & Kinsbourne, 1978; Segalowicz & Stewart, 1979; Simion, Bagnara, Bisiacchi, Roncato, & Umilta, 1980; Umilta et al., 1980), and so the present experiments are contributed in the interests of a more balanced viewpoint in the literature.

The use of surveys of satisfaction for evaluations

Abstract: The use of surveys by cities for planning or evaluation requires attention to several problems identified by users. An assessment of the impact of these issues was made using three surveys by the city of Dallas. It was determined that surveys may be particularly valuable in evaluating service delivery patterns for services which offer delivery agents a high level of discretion. For these services, non-whites reported higher levels of dissatisfaction than whites, a pattern not evident when low discretion services are evaluated. The study also allowed development of specific suggestions regarding the structure of survey questions and the evaluation of services by non-users.

On mean residence times in compartments

Abstract: This paper is concerned with a set of parameters which measure the mean time a random particle resides in individual compartments in response to a given load distribution. These parameters are related to other time parameters and to each other.

Occupational Achievement Motivation as a Function of Biological Sex, Sex-Linked Personality, and Occupation Stereotype:

Abstract: Predicted sex differences in occupational achievement motivation based on the work of Horner (1968) and Stein, Pohly and Mueller (1971) were examined by administering questionnaires to 87 female an...

Sexism: A Tri-Dimensional Phenomenon.

Abstract: A review of the existing sex-role scales indicated the need for a relatively short multidimensional scale with established validity and reliability. The scale reported herein, consisting of 20 self-administered items in Likert format with Guttman scoring option, measures attitudes toward sex roles in three broad areas: internal familial division of labor, external (economic) division of labor, and perceived sex differences. One hundred and ninety-seven carefully selected and worded items were pretested by administration to a diverse group of 154 respondents. The results were submitted to factor analytic procedures leading to one dimension comprising two sets of items — those measuring attitudes toward internal division of labor, and those measuring attitudes toward external division of labor — and another dimension comprising items measuring attitudes toward perceived sex differences. These sets of items were treated as three subscales and submitted to Guttman procedures. The coefficients of reproducibility and scalability for each subscale were deemed satisfactory. Furthermore, 17 of the 20 items on the scale were able to distinguish females' responses from those of males. The alpha coefficient of reliability for the 20 items was .94.

Cognitive style, EEG waveforms and brain levels

Abstract: Reviewer's introduction. This is the second communication on this topic. I am excited to bring our readers results on brain lateralization research soon after three American-based researchers were awarded the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their pioneering work which helped penetrate the complex inner workings of the brain. In particular, Dr. R.W. Sperry was honored for mapping the various portions of the brain and their highly specialized functions. I am thankful to the authors of the study presented herein for their willingness to submit it to the scru tiny of the HSM readership at such a crucial time. I would like to encourage others to keep this burgeoning dialo gue alive.

Achievement and Aspiration: Patterns among Male and Female Academic-Career Aspirants.

Abstract: In contrast to previous work, our study considers both meaning and mediation factors in the achievement-aspiration relationship In a sample of graduate students ("academic-career aspirants"), we examine sex differences in the achievement- aspiration relationship as they vary with type of academic achievement and professional aspirations, and as it is mediated by individuals' perceptions of their professional roles and their faculty's support We find: (1) Women's achievement-aspiration conversion is different from, but not necessarily lower than, men's Rather, the strength and direction of the relationship vary with aspiration type (traditional versus alternative) and, to some extent, with specific types of academic achievement (eg, paper publication and GPA) (2) The mediators of the achievement-aspiration relationship also vary by sex and aspiration type Notably, women's aspirations for traditional career rewards are largely a function of their perceptions of the structural availability of job oppo