Detector-Agnostic Phase-Space Distributions.

The representation of quantum states via phase-space functions constitutes an intuitive technique to characterize light. However, the reconstruction of such distributions is challenging as it demands specific types of detectors and detailed models thereof to account for their particular properties and imperfections. To overcome these obstacles, we derive and implement a measurement scheme that enables a reconstruction of phase-space distributions for arbitrary states whose functionality does not depend on the knowledge of the detectors, thus defining the notion of detector-agnostic phase-space distributions. Our theory presents a generalization of well-known phase-space quasiprobability distributions, such as the Wigner function. We implement our measurement protocol, using state-of-the-art transition-edge sensors without performing a detector characterization. Based on our approach, we reveal the characteristic features of heralded single- and two-photon states in phase space and certify their nonclassicality with high statistical significance.

Quantum-enhanced interferometry with large heralded photon-number states.

Quantum phenomena such as entanglement can improve fundamental limits on the sensitivity of a measurement probe. In optical interferometry, a probe consisting of N entangled photons provides up to a N enhancement in phase sensitivity compared to a classical probe of the same energy. Here, we employ high-gain parametric down-conversion sources and photon-number-resolving detectors to perform interferometry with heralded quantum probes of sizes up to N = 8 (i.e. measuring up to 16-photon coincidences). Our probes are created by injecting heralded photon-number states into an interferometer, and in principle provide quantum-enhanced phase sensitivity even in the presence of significant optical loss. Our work paves the way towards quantum-enhanced interferometry using large entangled photonic states.

Ear lobe creases and heart disease.

In 50 patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and 38 controls, comparative data on age, sex, serum cholesterol level, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, smoking habits, and ear-lobe creases were analyzed statistically. After adjustment for age differences, the factors which chiefly distinguished the two groups were the incidences of smoking, obesity, diabetes, and ear-lobe creases. Of these, the ear-lobe crease seemed to be correlated best with CHD, and may prove to be a useful diagnostic sign.

Genetic differences in avoidance learning by Rattus norvegicus: escape/avoidance responding, sensitivity to electric shock, discrimination learning, and open-field behavior.

The behaviors of rats selectively bred for either good or poor shuttle box avoidance learning were studied. The results of Experiment 1 indicated that the phenotypic difference in avoidance learning is not associated with differences in speed of escape or avoidance responding. Differences between the lines in frequency of intertrial responses (ITRs), which appear during training but not during pretest, suggest that ITRs in animals of the low-avoidance (SLA) line are more suppressed by electric shock than in animals of the high-avoidance (SHA) line. This result suggests that SLA animals may be more emotionally responsive than SHA animals. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the animals of the two lines do not differ in absolute sensitivity to electric shock, and Experiment 3 showed that the poor performance of the SLA line is not due to an inability to learn. Experiment 3 also provided evidence which suggests that the poor avoidance learning by SLA animals is due to their emotional reactivity. Observations of open-field behavior in Experiment 4 are consistent with this hypothesis. The major consistent correlate of the phenotypic difference in avoidance learning is greater emotionality or emotional reactivity in SLA than in SHA animals.

The relative importance of head size, gender and age on the auditory brainstem response.

Correlations between the ABR (auditory brainstem response) and subject characteristics of gender, age, and head diameter were established in simple and multiple regression analyses of normal hearing individuals. The simple regression tests demonstrated that head diameter and gender were significantly correlated with the latencies and amplitudes of waves I, III, and V and the I-V and III-V interpeak intervals. In nearly all cases, head diameter correlated more highly with the ABR waves than did gender. Males had longer latencies than females with comparable head diameter, suggesting that factors other than head size are differentiating them. Age was significantly correlated only with the latency of wave III. All significant subject variables also were compared simultaneously in a multiple regression analysis to determine their order of significance and relative contributions to the ABR wave latencies. This permitted the establishment of regression equations for each wave latency to predict the ABR with measurable subject characteristics.

Variables affecting the auditory brainstem response: audiogram, age, gender and head size.

Correlations between the ABR (auditory brainstem response) and the variables of hearing loss, gender, head size and age were determined in simple and multiple regression analyses in 334 ears. The stepwise multiple regression analyses for waves I, III and V of the ABR was used to determine the relative importance of the variables. Regression equations were calculated for the latency of each wave. Wave I latency for all subjects is best predicted by hearing threshold at 8 kHz, gender and age, in that order. Wave III latency depends upon hearing threshold at 4 kHz, age and gender. The latency of wave V is best predicted by gender, age and head diameter with threshold at 4 kHz being of minor importance. The I-V interval depends upon head diameter and threshold at 8 and 4 kHz with age of minor importance. Hearing loss at 8 kHz would shorten the I-V interval, while a loss at 4 kHz would be expected to lengthen the interval. Correlations of these variables with the amplitude of I, III and V are also described. Latency and amplitude are correlated with different subject variables suggesting differences in their generation.

The interval nature of an ordinal scale for measuring the marginal fracture of amalgam.

The clinical performance of amalgam alloys over time has been assessed by measuring the extent of marginal fracture of restorations made from these alloys. Scales of photographs of restorations exhibiting varying degrees of marginal fracture have been used to make these assessments. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the ordinal scale numbers of five photographs composing a commonly used scale (Mahler and Marantz, 1979) and the average width in micrometers of marginal fracture of the restorations in the photographs of this scale. In addition, a comparison was made between parametric and non-parametric statistical methods when applied to marginal fracture data. The results showed that four of the five photographs of this scale demonstrated a significant linear regression with marginal fracture width (R2 = 0.997; p = 0.002). The last photograph of the scale, which proved to be an outlier, was not used in the regression and was accommodated by an extrapolation procedure. Using previously gathered clinical data on the marginal fracture behavior of five amalgam alloys, the use of parametric statistical procedures (ANOVA and Scheffé's multiple comparison test) proved to be more discriminatory than the use of nonparametric procedures (Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn's Multiple comparison test) when tested at the same overall confidence level. Thus, having a photographic scale of an interval nature removes any doubt about using the more powerful technique of parametric statistics to evaluate the marginal fracture behavior of dental amalgams.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

School-age children's and adolescents' adjustment when a parent has cancer.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To describe school-age children's and adolescents' adjustment to parental cancer. DESIGN: Retrospective population control. SETTING: Screening cancer registries identified subjects at four Midwestern hospitals, including urban and rural settings of community and tertiary hospitals. All families were interviewed at home one time. SAMPLE: A convenience sample of 116 school-age children (6-10 years) and adolescents (11-18 years) living in the home of a parent with cancer. METHODS: Data were collected using two forms of the Child Behavior Checklist and an investigator-developed demographic form. The ill parent, the partner, and the adolescent rated the adjustment. This study's data were compared with population data, and comparisons were made among raters and with the existing literature. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: School-age children's and adolescents' adjustment. FINDINGS: School-age children and adolescents of a parent with cancer have significantly more behavioral problems than were expected. The significant agreement among raters is of a modest magnitude but as strong as rater agreement reported in the literature. CONCLUSIONS: Most school-age children and adolescents of a parent with cancer are well-adjusted, but a significant subset of youngsters is at risk for behavioral problems. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Nurses need to assess ill parents' concerns about their youngsters, provide information to parents, adolescents, and school-age children, and institute appropriate referrals.

Intrasubject reliability of high-frequency (9-14 kHz) thresholds: tested separately vs. following conventional-frequency testing.

Retrospective analysis of hearing-threshold data from a multisite ototoxicity monitoring study identified an individualized range of predominantly high frequencies (> 8 kHz) that appeared to be highly sensitive to early threshold changes caused by ototoxicity. This suggested the potential for a limited-frequency monitoring protocol that could be conducted rapidly without compromising sensitivity to ototoxicity. Such testing would require high-frequency thresholds to be obtained independently, that is, without prior testing at conventional frequencies (0.25-8 kHz). This study was conducted to determine the test-retest reliability of isolated threshold testing in a "target" frequency range of high frequencies (9, 10, 11.2, 12.5, and 14 kHz) that represented a shortened ototoxicity monitoring test. Twenty normal-hearing subjects were evaluated over five sessions. During each session, subjects were tested in each of two conditions: (1) conventional frequencies (0.25-8 kHz) tested first, followed by target frequencies; and (2) target frequencies tested alone (isolation condition). Depending on test frequency, reliability of high-frequency thresholds was either unchanged or improved in the isolation condition. Although these results cannot be generalized to ill hospitalized patients, who may also have pre-existing hearing loss, they lay the groundwork for development of a time-saving limited-frequency test to monitor for ototoxicity in these patients.

Reliability of evoked responses to high-frequency (8-14 kHz) tone bursts.

Instrumentation to evaluate the auditory brainstem response to high-frequency (8-14 kHz) tone bursts has been developed in the Auditory Research Laboratory, Portland, Oregon VA Medical Center. This system is intended to monitor the audition of patients receiving ototoxic drugs who are unresponsive to behavioral test procedures. The reliability of responses obtained with the high-frequency tone-burst system was studied in 30 normal ears. Intrasubject variability of intersession data from response waves I, III, and V to tone bursts of frequencies 8, 10, 12, and 14 kHz was not significantly different from click response variability. The results of this study demonstrate the reliability of the ABR to these high-frequency tone-burst stimuli. This technique may provide early identification of hearing loss in unresponsive subjects receiving treatment with potentially ototoxic agents, thus allowing alternative treatments to minimize or prevent communicative handicap.

Culture and systems of oppression in abused women's lives.

Women's experiences of abuse are shaped by the social and cultural contexts in which they live. Recognition of the complex ways in which culture and systems of oppression interact, creating qualitatively different abuse experiences, is important nursing knowledge. Of particular concern are the ways in which women are constrained in their efforts to combat abuse as they experience the harsh and alienating effects of racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of social injustice. An understanding of the ways in which race and ethnicity, class, language and citizenship, religion, and culture intersect and shape women's experiences of abuse is critical to the provision of culturally competent nursing care. This understanding is the springboard from which more effective assessment and intervention strategies with vulnerable abused women of diverse backgrounds can emerge.

Effects of scheduling on the communicative assessment of aphasic patients.

This study determined the influence of morning and afternoon scheduling on the assessment of communicative skills of aphasic patients. Eight short-term (3 to 9 months post-onset) and eight long-term (12 or more months post-onset) aphasic subjects were administered 11 tests from the Porch Index of Communicative Ability (PICA) at specified times in the morning (A.M.) and afternoon (P.M.). Order of scheduling (A.M. first, P.M. second; P.M. first, A.M. second) was determined randomly but balanced between groups. Results indicated an absence of significant main effects for onset, scheduling, and test order; however, significant interactions between the scheduling and test-order factors were evidenced on the naming and auditory identification tests and on all overall measures. Analyses of these interactions revealed that patients scheduled first in the A.M. decreased their mean scores when assessed a second time in the P.M., whereas those scheduled first in the P.M., increased their scores when seen a second time in the A.M. Findings suggest that aphasic patients can be expected to do better on morning than afternoon assessments regardless of the order in which they are scheduled. Clinically, this indicates a need for consistency in the scheduling of periodic assessments for individual aphasic patients.

Retrieval of famous names on a Rebus Riddle task by middle-aged and older subjects.

This study compared the performances of 20 middle-aged and 20 older subjects on a Rebus Riddle task that required they retrieve the names of famous persons. Older subjects solved significantly more riddles and responded to prompts designed to aid riddle-solving efforts with significantly greater success than middle-aged subjects. Older subjects also had nonsignificantly faster riddle-solving times than middle-aged subjects. Similar riddles were difficult or easy for both groups. Superior performance of the older group appeared to be related to the age of the subject at the time the persons in the riddles had become famous.

Prognosis for improved verbal communication in aphasic stroke patients.

Information for predicting to what degree a patient will recover from aphasia has not been available to the physician. This study examined the role of 10 selected prognostic variables in relation to recovery of verbal communication in a homogeneous sample of treated aphasic patients. Terminal speech performance (TSP) could be discriminated 86% of the time by 6 variables; (1) initial severity of aphasia, (2) number of months after stroke, (3) auditory comprehension ability, (4) age, (5) speech fluency, and (6) general health. The predictive value of these variables was slightly higher (91.2%) for patients with good TSP than for those with poor TSP (82.6%).