The development and initial validation of the Multicultural Environmental Inventory: a preliminary investigation.

This article describes the development and initial validation of the Multicultural Environmental Inventory (MEI). The MEI is an instrument designed to measure an individual's perceptions about the degree to which graduate counseling programs address multicultural issues within curriculum, supervision, climate, and research. This investigation was conducted using the data from 208 students and faculty from counseling psychology graduate programs across the United States approved by the American Psychological Association. By using techniques of exploratory factor analysis, a 4-factor solution was determined to account for the relationships among the items on the MEI. The instrument was modified from 53 to 27 items on the basis of the items' effectiveness in measuring the underlying constructs of interest, and internal consistency information is provided on the final revised instrument (MEI-R). The factors underlying the MEI-R are discussed within the context of a multicultural environment in graduate counseling programs, and directions for future research are considered.

Tone discrimination performance in schizophrenic patients and normal volunteers: impact of stimulus presentation levels and frequency differences.

Psychophysical and cognitive studies carried out in schizophrenic patients show high within-group performance variance and sizable differences between patients and normal volunteers. Experimental manipulation of a target's signal-to-noise characteristics can, however, make a given task more or less difficult for a given subject. Such signal-to-noise manipulations can substantially reduce performance differences between individuals. Frequency and presentation level (volume) changes of an auditory tone can make a sound more or less difficult to recognize. This study determined how the discrimination accuracy of medicated schizophrenic patients and normal volunteers changed when the frequency difference between two tones (high frequency vs. low frequency) and the presentation levels of tones were systematically degraded. The investigators hypothesized that each group would become impaired in its discrimination accuracy when tone signals were degraded by making the frequencies more similar and the presentation levels lower. Schizophrenic patients were slower and less accurate than normal volunteers on tests using four tone levels and two frequency differences; the schizophrenic patient group showed a significant decrement in accuracy when the signal-to-noise characteristics of the target tones were degraded. The benefits of controlling stimulus discrimination difficulty in functional imaging paradigms are discussed.

Clinical and pathologic features of follicular large cell (nodular histiocytic) lymphoma.

Clinicopathologic correlations were made in 50 patients with follicular large cell (FLC) lymphoma to better define the influence of a variety of clinical and pathologic features on survival and the potential for continuous freedom from disease. The 5- and 10-year actuarial survivals for the entire group of patients are 77% and 63%, respectively, but disease-free survival is only 46% at 5 years and 22% at 10 years. No significant survival differences were found with various treatment approaches, although a single relapse occurred after 3 years among patients treated with modern combination chemotherapy containing doxorubicin. Median survivals of approximately 10 years despite recurrent disease are characteristic of the majority of follicular lymphomas. Furthermore, the reproducibility of cytologic diagnosis among follicular lymphomas is known to be variable. At this time, it is unclear whether intensive chemotherapy will cure a significant number of FLC patients or novel approaches are necessary as for the other follicular lymphomas.

Preferences by deer mice for solutions of sugars, salts, and acids in Richter-type drinking tests.

Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) were tested for taste preferences in 48-hour, Richter-type drinking tests (sapid solution versus distilled water). The Ss, which were seven male and seven female wild adults, were individually housed within an environmental chamber. Test solutions were concentrations of five sugars and three salts (.005 M to 1.0 M) and of two acids (4.0 pH to 1.5 pH). The molar range was too limited to identify the most preferred concentration of glucose, but peak preferences for the other common sugars fell within the range. Preference was shown for hypotonic NaCl concentrations, but other salts and both acids were nonpreferred in all tests. Comparisons were made between these findings and results from Richter-type tests with other murine rodents.

Taste preferences in the cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus).

This study focused on taste preferences in hispid cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) as measured by 2-bottle, 48-hr. drinking tests. In a series of continuous tests, fluid intakes were recorded for 5 sugar solutions (fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose and lactose), 3 salt solutions (KCl, MgSO4 and NaCl), and 2 acid solutions. In as attempt to supplement incomplete and divergent comparative data on rodent's taste preferences, this study investigated sugar and salt preferences at five concentrations (.005, .05, .10, .50, and 1.0 M) and acid preferences at six concentrations (4.0, 2.3, 2.0, 1.8, 1.6, and 1.5 pH). Significant differences in concentration in intake of all salts, acids, and sugars were noted. Significant sex differences were observed for intakes of sucrose and NaCl at several concentrations. All sugars were preferred maximally at .10 M. The salts NaCl and KCl were preferred maximally at .005 M and MgSO4 was preferred maximally at .05 M. The role of the sugars used in the experiment was discussed in terms of incentive values and possible reinforcers for later experiments.

Ultrasonic facilitation of escape responding and disruption of anal body temperature in the golden hamster.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of ultrasonic pure tone on Mesocricetus auratus, a Murine rodent that does not organize rigidly into colonies as do some cricetid rodents. Subjects were 4 male and 4 female adult golden hamsters. All animals were trained to bar-press in a modified operant chamber to escape 24-v D.C. footshock. An experimental group was exposed to a 30-kHz tone at 60 dB during testing in the operant chamber with footshock absent. Similar testing trials were also given to assess the effect of ultrasonic sound on anal body temperature. It was noted that the experimental group demonstrated both behavioral arousal by bar-pressing significantly more often than controls (F = 6.95, df = 1/6, p greater than .05) and physiological arousal by increased body temperature (F = 6.88, df = 1/6, p greater than .05).

Correlation of activity and weight in comet goldfish (Carassius auratus) at differing water temperatures.

Correlations of activity and weight at three water temperatures, 20 degrees, 26 degrees, and 30 degrees C, were examined in the comet goldfish (Carassius auratus). For the 12 subjects general activity scores increased as water temperature increased. Heavier subjects were more active at low temperatures while lighter subjects were more active at higher temperatures.

Effect of foot-shock intensity on amount of memory retrieval in rats by emotionally important stimuli in a drug-dependent learning escape design.

Drug-dependent learning (lack of transfer between drug states) was demonstrated and disrupted in an escape learning, forced choice T-maze task. A drug-dependent learning (DDL) group was trained to escape foot shock (0.65 mA) while in a drug (chlordiazepoxide hydrochloride) state. These rats subsequently responded randomly on non-shock test trials in the non-drug state, but continued to respond significantly (P less than 0.02) above random level when in the training drug state. Four transfer groups were also trained in the Drug state, but with a 1 kHz auditory tone simultaneously paired with foot shock. Each Transfer group received a different (0.10, 0.65, 3.5, and 4.5 mA) foot shock intensity during training. The auditory tone continued to be sounded during testing with no foot shock, and percentage correct turns, first-trial correct turns, and latency scores were significantly (P less than 0.01) different from the DDL group's performance. The results were interpreted as demonstrating that an emotionally-important auditory stimulus could initiate a memory retrieval process that could overcome a physiological state. This memory retrival process was not modified by wide variations in foot shock intensity.