A comparison between two training programs and their effects on fatigue rates in women.

This study investigated the effects of a plyometric training program and a traditional weight-training program on the onset rate of fatigue in the vertical jump in women. Twenty-five untrained college women ranging in age from 18-35 were randomly separated into 3 groups: a plyometric group, a traditional weight-training group, and a control (untrained) group. For the purpose of this study, the traditional weight-training group was defined as performing 3 sets of 10 repetitions at 70% of the subject's 1 repetition maximum (1RM). Training took place over a 10-week period for both the plyometric and traditional weight-trained groups. The plyometric group prolonged the onset of fatigue by 3.85 seconds as compared with their pretest data. The traditional weight-training group fatigued 0.55 seconds faster after training was implemented as compared with their pretest data. These results showed a significant difference between the groups in their onset rates of fatigue (p < 0.05). The results of this study show that a plyometric training program prolongs the onset rate of fatigue in the vertical jump in women as compared with a traditional weight-training program.

Can hospital structural and financial characteristics explain variations in mortality caused by acute myocardial infarction?

Each year 1 in 160 people in the United States suffers from acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Of these more than 1.5 million cases annually, 500,000 end in fatalities. This study's purpose was to describe and evaluate the role hospital characteristics play in rates of mortality caused by AMI in acute-care California hospitals. Characteristics evaluated include structural characteristics--i.e., teaching status, percentage of board-certified physicians, registered nurse hours per patient day (RN hours/patient day), volume of cases, technological resource availability, and urban density; and financial characteristics--profit status and total operating expenses per patient day. Although part of a larger investigation correlating mortality and length of stay, this article reports only the results for significant influences on mortality.

Factor analysis of the Diagnostic Inventory of Personality and Symptoms.

The Diagnostic Inventory of Personality and Symptoms (DIPS; Vincent, 1985) is a self-rating instrument that yields 14 clinical scale scores and a validity scale score. The scale scores present diagnostic classification information derived from major DSM-III diagnostic categories. This study replicates and extends a previous factor study by Vincent and Duthie (1986). DIPS data were collected from 170 psychiatric inpatients and outpatients. Both a principal components analysis and an oblique, cluster-oriented, marker variable factor analysis of the 14 clinical scale scores resulted in four factors, the first three of which reproduced the pattern of factor loadings found by Vincent and Duthie (1986). The results support the existing distinction between DSM-III Axis I psychotic and neurotic disorders, and Axis II characterological disorders.

DSM-III diagnosis and code types of the Diagnostic Inventory of Personality and Symptoms in public hospital settings.

The relationships of high-point code types of the Diagnostic Inventory of Personality and Symptoms (DIPS) to the Diagnostic and statistical manual III of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-III) were explored for public hospital patients (N = 448). Nineteen DIPS code types that relate code types to Axis I diagnoses are prepared. The three DIPS personality disorder cluster scales and the eight combinations thereof are presented as well. Eight of the personality disorder cluster scale code types that relate to DSM-III Axis II categories are identified. Finally, a narrative summation of each of the code types is given.

DSM-III diagnosis and code types of the Diagnostic Inventory of Personality and Symptoms.

The relationships of high-point code types of the Diagnostic Inventory of Personality and Symptoms (DIPS) to the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual III of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-III) were explored for patients (N = 316) in private mental health settings. Sixteen DIPS code types that relate code types to Axis I diagnoses are presented. The three DIPS personality disorder cluster scales and the eight combinations thereof are presented as well. Five of the personality disorder cluster scale code types that relate to DSM-III Axis II categories are identified. Finally, a narrative summation of each of the code types is given.

Accelerated mental aging in alcoholic patients.

Discriminant function and polynomial regression methods were used to define a mental age function from scale score profile patterns found in the WAIS manual. Values on the mental age function then were calculated from WAIS scale score profiles for 164 alcoholics in the age range 35 to 74. Validity of the mental age function was evident in clear discrimination between chronological age groups in the alcoholic sample. As compared with WAIS normative values for the mental age function, the mean mental age for patients in the alcoholic sample was advanced approximately 7 years over age-matched normals. Unweighted means ANOVA revealed the accelerated mental aging of alcoholic patients to be statistically significant. This finding is discussed in the context of other research that supports a premature aging hypothesis.

Rorschach assessment of borderline children.

Projective testing may provide the clinician with a valuable context in which childhood borderline conditions may be investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine if Rorschach scores could be useful in diagnosing borderline disorders. Rorschach scores from a group of 13 borderline children and 10 conduct disorder children were compared using a step-down discriminate analysis. The results indicated that children in these two groups could be correctly classified beyond chance levels using Rorschach scores. Three variable, content analysis, human movement, and animal movement were the strongest contributors in separating the two groups. The Rorschach measure of form quality (i.e., adequacy of perception) was notable in that it failed to produce any independent discriminatory power in this analysis. As in the case of adult borderline testing using the Rorschach, novel scoring procedures, used in conjunction with standard scoring procedures may lead to further clarification of childhood borderline disorders.

Effects of drinking pattern on neuropsychological performance among alcohol misusers.

To investigate neuropsychological performance among alcohol misusers as a function of drinking pattern, duration of problem drinking and age, 297 alcohol dependent inpatients who were chemically free approximately 10 days were studied. An analysis of variance design was used with age (less than 40 years, greater than or equal to 40 years), drinking pattern (bout, daily) and length of problem drinking (short-term, 0-4 years; middle-term, 5-10 years; long-term, greater than 10 years) serving as the between-subjects factors. Results showed that bout drinkers performed significantly better than daily drinkers on measures of short-term memory, internal scanning and visuospatial-visuomotor performance. Duration of problem drinking appeared to exert a much weaker effect on test performance, but age was a critical variable in predicting subjects' vulnerability to neuropsychological deficits.

Contrasting binge and continuous alcoholic drinkers using demographic and drinking history variables.

While it is quite common for researchers and clinicians to categorize alcoholics as binge or continuous drinkers, relatively little is known about the characteristics of these two potentially distinct clinical populations. In the present study, binge and continuous alcoholics were evaluated on a number of demographic and drinking history variables. Binge drinkers were found to be significantly more likely than continuous drinkers to have been treated for liver problems and more likely to have reported parental alcoholism. They also tended to describe a greater number of alcohol-related arrests and hospitalizations. Six of the variables taken together yielded a discriminative function that was only moderately successful in classifying these drinkers. The potential clinical importance of objectively identifying binge versus continuous drinkers is discussed.

Cognitive deficits as a function of years of alcohol abuse.

The present study relates duration of alcohol abuse and degree of cognitive impairment among a population of alcohol dependent subjects (DSM-III). Data on 175 consecutively admitted patients were first examined to empirically establish operational definitions of short-term and long-term alcohol abuse for this population. Five or more consecutive years of alcohol abuse was thus defined by a median split as long-term alcoholism. The next 125 consecutive admissions were subsequently identified as either Short-Term or Long-Term alcoholics according to this criterion. Data gathered from these 125 subjects represented a wide range of neuropsychological measures. Analyses showed that Long-Term alcoholics demonstrated significantly greater cognitive deficits on tasks of psychomotor speed, recent memory, and overall alertness relative to less chronic alcoholics. This pattern occurred independent of age and education. These findings are interpreted in terms of a cognitive typology of alcoholism, and implications for treatment, including aftercare and cognitive remediation techniques, are discussed.

Skylab task and work performance (experiment M-151--time and motion study).

The primary objective of Experiment M151 was to study by means of time and motion analytic techniques the inflight adaptation of Skylab crewmen to a variety of task situations involving different types of activity. A parallel objective was to examine astronaut inflight performance for any behavioral stress effects associated with the working and living conditions of the Skylab environment. Training data provided the basis for comparison of preflight and inflight performance. Efficiency was evaluated through the adaptation function, namely, the relation of performance time over task trials. The results indicate that the initial changeover from preflight to inflight (or, from 1-G to zero-G) was accompanied by a substantial increase in performance time for most work and task activities. Equally important was the finding that crewmen adjusted rapidly to the weightless environment and became proficient in developing techniques with which to optimize task performance. By the end of the second inflight trial, most of the activities were performed almost as efficiently as on the last preflight trial. In addition, the analysis demonstrated the sensitivity of the adaptation function to differences in task and hardware configuration. The function was found to be more regular and less variable inflight than preflight. Translation and control of masses (large or small) were accomplished easily and efficiently through the rapid development of the arms and legs (and the entire body) as subtle guidance and restraint systems. Finally, the adaptation function provided no evidence of behavioral stress effects attributable to the Skylab environment.