Mariner v flight past venus.

On 19 October 1967 the Mariner V spacecraft passed by Venus 10,151 kilometers from the center of the planet; the gravitational field, atmosphere, ionosphere, hydrogen corona, and interaction with the solar wind were observed.

Mariner V: Plasma and Magnetic Fields Observed near Venus.

Abrupt changes in the amplitude of the magnetic fluctuations, in the field strength, and in the plasma properties, were observed with Mariner V near Venus. They provide clear evidence for the presence of a bow shock around the planet, similar to, but much smaller than, that observed at Earth. The observations appear consistent with an interaction of the solar wind with the ionosphere of Venus. No planetary field could be detected, but a steady radial field and very low plasma density were found 10,000 to 20,000 kilometers behind Venus and 8,000 to 12,000 kilometers from the Sun-Venus line. These observations may be interpreted as relating to an expansion wave tending to fill the cavity produced by Venus in the solar wind. The upper limit to the magnetic dipole moment of Venus is estimated to be within a factor of 2 of 10(-3) items that of Earth.

Truncated Poisson distribution with optimization techniques in the epidemiology of caries.

A truncated Poisson distribution provides a closer fit to observed caries in a sample of 10- to 11-year-old children than a previously reported chain binomial distribution. Operations research techniques are used in estimating a parameter.

Acquiring professional academic skills.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Successful family medicine faculty are proficient at the skills of the profession, ie, teaching, research, writing, and management. However, possessing these skills is not sufficient for building a successful academic career in family medicine. Successful faculty are also adept at learning, conforming to, and taking advantage of the norms, expectations, and reward structures of the profession. The addition of a conscious, systematic faculty development approach can improve the process and success of faculty learning these skills. Methods for teaching these skills to faculty are reviewed.

Family life education for the handicapped.

Only a small percentage of America's handicapped population presently receives adequate instruction in family life education. The development of healthy attitudes and a positive self-concept are enhanced by education in sexuality with openness toward this sensitive area. Parents are the primary sex educators of their children, with schools, religious groups and various community agencies playing a supplementary role. In not educating handicapped individuals, society further burdens them with additional insecurities and feelings of inadequacy. People who are exposed to family life education programs tend to act more responsibly in their personal relationships and feel better about themselves.

PIP: Only a few of America's handicapped population receives adequate instruction in family life education. Education in sexuality develops healthy attitudes and positive self-concepts with openness in a sensitive area. Parents are the primary sex educators of their children, with schools, religious groups, and community agencies playing a supplementary role. By not educating handicapped people, society further burdens them with additional insecurities and feelings of inadequacy. People who are exposed to family life education programs tend to act more responsibly in their personal relationships and feel better about themselves. Sex education for the handicapped should include the following concepts: self-esteem; preparing for marriage and parenthood; understanding love; preparing to make responsible decisions; stressing the need for equal opportunities for both men and women; helping people develop tolerance and appreciation for people who do not conform to traditional norms regarding marriage and childbearing; and, contributing to knowledge and understanding of the sexual dimension of our lives.

The time has come--a study of geriatric continuing education in Ohio Visiting Nurse Associations.

A majority of nurses working in the community lack formal educational preparation to care for older adults. This study examined the perceived learning needs of Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) executives and agency staff nurses in Ohio related to continuing education in gerontology. Twenty-six executives and 478 staff nurses were asked to complete a gerontologic education survey; 17 executives and 344 staff nurses returned surveys. Findings suggest that few Ohio VNAs have focused on continuing education in gerontology. Indications exist that executives and staff nurses are not always in agreement regarding the importance of content needed for updating gerontological knowledge and skills. Educational and organizational strategies are offered to provide minimal standards for gerontologic professional practice in home care.

Patient satisfaction, chronic pain, and quality of life after elective incisional hernia repair: effects of recurrence and repair technique.

PURPOSE: To determine the effects of repair technique and hernia recurrence on patient-reported outcomes after incisional hernia repair. METHODS: This cohort study included patients from sixteen Veteran's Affairs Medical Centers across the United States who underwent elective incisional hernia repair between 1997 and 2002. Technical details and outcomes (repair type and recurrence status) were determined by physician chart review. Patient satisfaction, chronic pain (McGill pain scale and visual analogue scale), and health-related quality of life (Short Form 36) were evaluated with a mailed survey at a median of five years after repair. Multivariable regression modeling was performed to evaluate the effect of repair type and recurrence status on patient-reported outcomes. RESULTS: Of 854 patients alive at the time of survey mailing, 371 responded (43.4%). Patients with active recurrence were more likely to be dissatisfied with their results (odds ratio (OR) 6.2, P < 0.0001), to have chronic sensory hernia site pain (OR 3.2, P = 0.01), to report disturbance from pain (OR 2.1, P = 0.04), and to have significantly worse quality of life on the Physical Function, General Health, and Physical Component Score domains. Repair technique with permanent mesh versus suture had no independent effect on patient satisfaction, chronic pain, or QOL. CONCLUSIONS: Recurrence has a substantial negative effect on patient-reported outcomes after incisional hernia repair, whereas the repair technique has no independent effect.

Multivariate Analysis Of Intrinsic Individual Differences In Disjunctive Conceptual Behavior.

Since it is known that intrinsic individual differences increase with the complexity of the behavior and since it is suspected that no single response measure can adequately represent the learning process, the present study examined intrinsic individual differences in conceptual behavior with a multivariate model, three-mode factor analysis. Four response measures were selected according to their traditional or apparent importance to the analysis of concept learning. The number of errors, response latency, post-response time, and interresponse time were those selected to reflect the subject's performances on a figural, disjunctive conceptual behavior task. The analyses yielded five individual difference performance factors, three stage factors, and four response components indicating the importance of a multivariate representation of complex behavior.

Three-Mode Common Factor Analysis: Procedure And Computer Programs.

As psychologists increasingly recognize the limitations of single-occasion, single-measure research designs and employ more elaborate and comprehensive data collection schemes, sophisticated analytic techniques will play an ever more important role in understanding behavioral data. This paper outlines one such promising technique, Tucker's three-mode factor analysis, which enables the researcher to explore new taxonomic structures in three-way designs. The procedure is described in step-by-step format, which should be easy to follow for anyone familiar with traditional two-mode factor analysis. Appropriate computer programs are available to interface with the widely used SPSS package to calculate Tucker's common factor model.

Individual Differences in Assimilation Resistance and Affective Responses in Problem Solving.

Data on problem solving collected within the framework of Eckblad's (198lb) cognitive theory of affect are analyzed with three-mode principal component analysis. Eckblad's theory contends that affect is mediated by cognitive schemes. When schemes are inadequate for input assimilation, the resistances call forth affects with respect to the events. In this study, the task information load was varied to provide different levels of resistance. Data comprised 6 judgment scales (Pleasant-Unpleasant, Interesting-Boring, Comfortable-Uncomfortable, ComplexSimple, Varied-Monotone, and Confused-Clear) by 8 problem solving tasks (ordered a priori by information load) by 32 thirteen-year-old boys. The general results were consistent with the hypotheses of curvex scale relationships and joint scale-task fan-shaped vector configurations, but the fit was modest and vulnerable to other interpretations. Although many of the problems were accommodated by Eckblad's general scheme theory, it is suggested that assimilation resistance must be more rigorously operationalized to afford greater insight into the correspondence between cognition and affect. In general, this study illustrates the effectiveness of the threemode principal component analysis (TUCKALS) method for the assessment of the nomothetic validity of a theoretical framework as it pertains to within and across person variation.

The Structure Of Self-Reported Difficulty In Assertiveness: An Application Of Three-Mode Common Factor Analysis.

The Difficulty in Assertiveness Inventory (DAI) was developed, based on a two-facet model of assertiveness for item specification -- referents (interpersonal contexts or partners) x response classes (types of assertive behavior). Data from two samples of female university students were subjected to three-mode factor analysis. Two referent, two response class, and five individual differences factors were extracted. The proportion of variance accounted for by each factor matched across solutions. The patterns of factor loadings indicated that the two referent factors (distant and close), the two response class factors (positive and negative), and four of the five individual differences factors (labeled Assertiveness A, B, C, and D) were stable across subject samples. Solutions for the individual differences factor matrix and the counter-rotated and transformed core matrix were reciprocally beneficial to interpretation of the structure of the data. Correlations of DAI subscales with the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale were not significantly different from zero. The potential uses of the instrument in applied research and in the clinical setting were discussed.

Dental emergencies presenting to a children's hospital.

Most of the 222 dental patients with emergency situations, observed during the period described, had injuries involving the eight incisor teeth (86.1 percent). Patients or their parents facing these situations are often referred to the hospital emergency room, especially those that provide dental services.

Walking patterns in Down's syndrome.

Cinematographic analysis techniques were used to evaluate the walking patterns of 10 5-year-old Down's syndrome (DS) children (trisomy 21). Comparison with similar analyses of non-handicapped children revealed a wide developmental variability in the walking of DS children and retardation in some temporal components. The DS children adopted a more flexed posture of the hip and knee joints, and increased fluctuation of ankle movement during the walking cycle. The data suggest a wide continuum of locomotor development which may be a function of the degree of impairment of associated neuromuscular mechanisms.

Screening for osteoporosis in community-dwelling adults with mental retardation.

Osteoporosis screening of adults ages 40 to 60 who attended community-based adult training centers was conducted utilizing dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) measurements of the calcaneus. Valid measurements were obtained on 107 individuals, a response rate of 94%. One fifth of the sample (21%) had osteoporosis and 34% had osteopenia. On multiple regression analysis, the most significant predictors of BMD were Down syndrome, mobility status, and race. Future studies involving larger samples of middle-age adults with mental retardation/developmental disabilities will clarify the need and optimum age for osteoporosis screening.

Caring for adults with mental retardation: survey of family practice residency program directors.

In their core curriculum guidelines, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine has recognized the importance of training family physicians in caring for persons with mental retardation. We mailed surveys to all family practice residency directors in the United States, questioning them about experiences and methods used to teach residents about health care needs of adults with mental retardation and the importance of this education. We found that 84% of programs provide residents with one or more experiences, and 60% instruct residents in this area. Most directors ranked this education as very important or important. There was no relationship between type or age of residency program and likelihood that residents were educated about mental retardation. The importance of this education is discussed.