Kromoscopic analysis: a possible alternative to spectroscopic analysis for noninvasive measurement of analytes in vivo.

Light that penetrates scattering media shows nonlinearities that mask the broad and shallow perturbations made by trace analytes on the background illuminant spectrum. Narrow-band spectroscopic decomposition and deconvolution of such weak bands is a formidable analytical task that pushes the fundamentally linear spectroscopic method beyond practical limits. Kromoscopy is a high-dimensional analog of human color perception; it has broad-band spectrally overlapping detectors similar to those of the visual system, but in the infrared. Analyte bands are integrated fully in two or more detectors with different relative weightings. As in color vision, the analyte information is coded in the direct correlations between detector signals, which individually have higher signal-to-noise ratios than their spectroscopic counterparts. Our Kromoscopic instrument responds directly to glucose in aqueous solution, is not affected by temperature disturbances, and is fast enough to measure physiologically induced Kromoscopic changes in the arterial pulse waveform with high precision.

Maternal empathy, family chaos, and the etiology of borderline personality disorder.

Psychoanalytic writers have traced the etiology of borderline personality disorder (BPD) to be a preoedipal disturbance in the mother-child relationship. Despite the prevalence of theories focusing on the role of mothering in the development of BPD, few empirical studies have tested the hypothesis that borderlines were the recipients of unempathic mothering. The current preliminary study compared 13 mothers of borderline adolescents with 13 mothers of normal adolescents. This study found that mothers of borderlines tended to conceive of their children egocentrically, as need-gratifying objects, rather than as individuals with distinct and evolving personalities. This study also found that the mothers of borderlines reported raising their daughters in extremely chaotic families struggling to cope with multiple hardships, including divorce and financial worries. The stressful environmental circumstances reported by the mothers likely affected the borderline daughters directly as well as the mothers' ability to parent effectively and empathically. The results of this study suggest that, as predicted by psychoanalytic theory, a problematic mother-child relationship may play a significant role in the genesis of borderline pathology; however, the life circumstances that contextualize the mother-child relationship also need to be considered when accounting for the etiology of BPD.

Distinguishing female borderline adolescents from normal and other disturbed female adolescents.

PSYCHOANALYTIC theory would suggest that differentiating the borderline adolescent from his or her normal peers should be a difficult task. In many respects the developmental crises of adolescence dovetail with critical conflicts of Borderline Personality Disorder--e.g., identity formation and separation-individuation. Extensive semi-structured interviews (Gunderson's Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines) of normal, borderline and other disturbed adolescents provide a data base for examining the hallmarks of borderline pathology in adolescence. This paper focuses on the qualitative differences in patterns of impulsivity, affective lability, dissociative experience, and interpersonal relationships that distinguish borderline teenagers from other seriously disturbed and normal adolescents. The paper also outlines modifications in the Gunderson interview for an adolescent population.

Developmental history and object relations in psychiatrically disturbed adolescent girls.

This study explored empirically the relationship between developmental history variables and several dimensions of object relations in a sample of 36 female adolescent inpatients. The results document the importance of preoedipal experience, the relationship with the mother, and continuity of attachments in shaping object relations. In addition, the data point to the importance of distinguishing different dimensions of object relations, such as the affective quality of the object world and the logic and accuracy of attributions, which may have different developmental correlates. The findings also suggest the impact of sexual abuse, typically a postoedipal experience, on enduring object-relational processes.

Effect of extramural experiences on dental students' attitudes.

This study was designed to determine the effect of a set of community dentistry extramural experiences on student attitudes. The experiences involved one or more of four underserved or special populations: the mentally retarded, the mentally ill, correctional center inmates, and indigent children. Comparison of student responses to attitude questionnaires before and after the extramural experiences showed both positive and negative changes in attitude.

Treatment of correctional center inmates at a public health department: a cooperative venture.

Minimum security correctional institutions in North Carolina are small units with no in-house dental facilities. Dental care for inmates of these institutions traditionally has been provided at larger correctional institutions each of which is responsible for the dental treatment of inmates of many smaller units. Services provided are therefore necessarily limited. This paper describes and evaluates an innovative program designed to provide high quality, cost-effective dental care for minimum security correctional center inmates at a nearby county health department clinic. The program is a cooperative effort sponsored by the North Carolina Department of Corrections, the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry, and the Orange County (N.C.) Health Department and is funded in part by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Virometer: an optical instrument for visual observation, measurement and classification of free viruses.

An instrument based on fluorescence correlation spectrometry and total reflection fluorescence visually and photoelectrically detects and sizes viruses at moderate concentrations in biologic fluids in minutes. Viruses can be classified using their nucleic acid type and amount determined by new fluorescent staining and data handling techniques.

Cytomat-R: a computer-controlled multiple laser source multiparameter flow cytophotometer system.

A multiple illumination wavelength multiparameter flow cytophotometer system, using laser sources and controlled by a small, general-purpose digital computer, has been produced for use in the development of new flow cytometric techniques. Three different laser wave-lengths can be used simultaneously to illuminate different regions of the flow chamber; as many as five measurements of light scattering at various angles, extinction, and fluorescence at one or more wavelengths can be made at each illuminated station. Cells in suspension may be examined at rates of 1000 cells/sec, with seven correlated optical measurements being recorded for each cell. A library of programs for data manipulation and statistical analysis make it possible to use the system to develop and implement cell characterization, counting and classification procedures for basic and clinical research applications.

A generalized machine for automated flow cytology system design.

A general-purpose multiparameter flow cytophotometry system has been developed for use in the desgin of flow cytophotometers to perform specific tasks in automated cytology. Five separate measurement stations spaced along the axis of a capillary tube can be used to make up to eight optical measurements of individual cells flowing through the capillary. The system uses a broad-band arc source and can measure light scattered at various angles, light absorption by cell constituents and/or dyes and fluorescence of cell constituents and/or fluorochromes, excited directly and/or by energy transfer from neighboring molecules. High numerical aperture optics are used to maximize light-gathering capacity and minimize the effects of cell orientation and eccentricity of position in the fluid stream on measurements. A hard-wired preprocessor is used to detect the presence of cells and adjust sampling timing for changes in cell velocity; the electronic system also controls the gain of the detector photomultiplier tubes to compensate for background variations. Data acquistion and analysis are controled by a small general-purpose digital computer. The system has been used to develop a method and apparatus for blood cell counting and classification.