Fear of Rape

This study examines the magnitude and prevalence of fear of crime as a function of seriousness and probability of occurrence among Greek university students aged 17 to 29. The findings show that fear of rape is the greatest fear of almost all young Greek women, greater than the fear of other serious offenses such as murder. This finding is interpreted in light of rape's reported likelihood in conjunction with its reported seriousness. Further, the precautionary measures show an avoidance pattern in Greek women toward crimes requiring them to physically defend themselves. The study's findings are similar to those reported in other countries and in line with the feminist claim regarding the universality of the fear of rape in the daily life of young women. Discussion includes explanations of high fear in terms of physical and social vulnerability and as a possible reflection of hidden violence against Greek women.

Development of a Change-Sensitive Outcome Measure for Children Receiving Counseling

Contemporary testing standards place test purpose as the central focus during test development and subsequent use. This study describes the development of a measure for children designed explicitly to measure change resulting from psychosocial interventions. Parents completed the outcome measure for 896 elementary school-age children receiving psychotherapy interventions from community mental health agencies. Scales formed with change-sensitive items evidenced adequate reliability estimates and larger effect sizes than scales composed of the original item pool. When asked by stakeholders such as parents, principals, and school boards to investigate the effectiveness of provided interventions, school psychologists should consider the use of change-sensitive measures that are sensitive to small and moderately sized treatment effects.

Screening for cognitive impairment in systemic lupus erythematosus: Application of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in a Greek patient sample

BACKGROUND

Cognitive impairment (CI) is one of the most frequent neuropsychiatric manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Given that extensive neuropsychological testing is not always feasible in routine clinical practice, brief cognitive screening tools are desirable. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) as a screening tool for CI in SLE.

METHODS

Consecutive SLE patients followed at a single centre were evaluated using MoCA and an extensive neuropsychological test battery (NPT), including the Digits Forward and Digits Backwards, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Memory Test, Trail Making Test, Stroop Colour-Word Test, Semantic and Phonetic Verbal Fluency tests and a 25-problem version of the General Adult Mental Ability test. The criterion validity of MoCA was assessed through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses using three different case definitions: i) against normative population data, ii) and iii) against average performance of a comparison group of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, to adjust for possible confounding effects of chronic illness and inflammatory processes on cognitive performance. The effect of patient-related (age, years of education, anxiety, depression, fatigue and pain) and disease-related (activity, damage, age at diagnosis, disease duration, use of glucocorticoid, psychotropic and pain medication) parameters on the MoCA was examined.

RESULTS

A total of 71 SLE patients were evaluated. MoCA significantly correlated with all NPT scores and was affected by education level (p < 0.001), but not by other demographic or clinical variables. The optimal cutoff for detecting CI, as defined on the basis of normative population data, was 23/30 points, demonstrating 73% sensitivity and 75% specificity. A cutoff of 22/30 points, using neuropsychological profiles of the RA group as inflammatory disease controls, exhibited higher sensitivity (100%, based on both definitions) and specificity (87% and 90%, depending on the definition). The standard cutoff of 26/30 points displayed excellent sensitivity (91-100%) with significant expenses in specificity (43-45%).

CONCLUSION

The MoCA is an easily applied tool, which appears to be reliable for identifying CI in SLE patients. The standard cutoff score (26/30) ensures excellent sensitivity while lower cutoff scores (22-23/30) may, also, provide higher specificity.

Wideband holographic recorder

This paper summarizes the design considerations and developmental status of a wideband holographic system breadboard designed to prove the feasibility of recording and reproducing digital data at 400 Mbits/sec and 40 Mbits/sec, respectively. The following critical system elements were investigated: multiplexer-demultiplexer electronics, linear data composer, polygonal mirror scanner, holographic recording techniques, and data readout devices. The feasibility of recording digital data in multichannel holographic form at high densities has been demonstrated on a subsystem basis.

[Transurethral resection of the prostate in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) represents a method of choice in surgical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The objective of this prospective study was to evaluate TURP mortality and morbidity rates.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In 1998 184 patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) indicating the presence of BPH underwent one of the following surgeries: TURP 149 (81%), transurethral incision of the prostate 19 (10.3%), and open surgery (suprapubic transvesical prostatectomy) 16 (8.7%). From the group of 149 patients treated by TURP the following patients were withdrawn from the study: 7 (4.7%) patients with a finding of incidental carcinoma of the prostate and 14 (9.4%) patients who did not attend the postoperative follow-ups.

RESULTS

64 (50%) patients were treated for LUTS syndrome before TURP. TURP was applied in 69 (53.9%) cases for absolute indications. During the surgery and within one year after it, no mortality was recorded. Complications during the surgery were present in 13 (10.2%) patients, and within 24 h after the surgery in 38 (29.7%) patients. Early postoperative complications (up to 4 postoperative weeks) were recorded in 49 (38.3%) patients. Late postoperative complications within 3 month after the surgery occurred in 16 (12.5%) patients, within 6 months in 17 (13.3%) patients, and after 12 months in 17 (13.3%) patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Although complications occur almost in 58% of patients, TURP still represents the standard treatment of LUTS indicating the presence of BPH. (Tab. 5, Fig. 2, Ref. 15.).

Current issues of BPH treatment

BPS is a disease with a negative impact on patient's quality not the quantity of life. Surgical treatment is still considered a gold standard, however, conservative treatment is an efficient and safe alternative with a positive impact on the quality of life.