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PubMed2001

Convergent validity of Rorschach and TAT scales of object relations.

The Rorschach Mutuality of Autonomy Scale (MOA) and the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale (SCORS) have been shown to be reliable and valid measures of interpersonal functioning. Utilizing a sample of 57 outpatients with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Axis II diagnosis, this study extends the findings of previous research demonstrating the reliability and convergent validity of each measure. Analyses focused on the convergent validity between the Rorschach MOA Scale and 8 SCORS variables (complexity, affect, emotional investment in relationships, emotional investment in values and morals, understanding of social causality, management of impulses/aggression, self-esteem, identity/coherence of self) ratings of Thematic Apperception Test narratives. The conceptual nature and clinical utility of these findings are discussed in relation to psychological assessment.

Humans↗

PubMed2003

Parental ratings of son's behavior problems in high-risk families: convergent validity, internal structure, and interparent agreement.

In this research, we examined the convergent validity, internal structure, and interparent agreement of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach, 1991a) using data from a community sample of 317 high-risk families. The sample consisted of 218 families with alcoholism (biological mother, father, and son) and 99 matched comparison families without alcoholism; all families were intact and included a 3- to 5-year-old son at first contact. Evidence was found for the convergent validity of the CBCL. In addition, although interparent agreement was low, the internal structure was confirmed, and structural invariance was high between mothers and fathers and in families with and without alcoholism. The effects of parental psychological and cognitive functioning on parent agreement were examined and found to have a minimal effect on parent agreement. These results demonstrate the validity of the CBCL for use by parent raters with alcoholism and their sons and emphasize the importance of including both versus only 1 parent in research using the CBCL.

Alcoholism↗

PubMed2004

Convergent validity of the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2: preliminary findings with a normative sample.

We examined the convergent validity of the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI; Cheung, Leung, et al., 1996), an indigenously constructed measure, by comparing its patterns of correlations with the MMPI-2 (Butcher et al., 2001). A valid sample of 147 Chinese students took both the CPAI and the MMPI-2. Results provide preliminary support for the convergence between most of the CPAI clinical scales and the relevant MMPI-2 scales. The CPAI personality scales further illustrated the patterns of personality features associated with the MMPI-2 scales in a Chinese cultural context. We discuss discrepancies in the correspondence between a number of CPAI and MMPI-2 clinical scales.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Convergent and discriminant validity of three measures of depressive personality disorder.

Sixty-eight outpatients from a veterans' administration psychiatry clinic and community mental health center were assessed with 3 measures of depressive personality disorder (DPD)-the Diagnostic Interview for Depressive Personality Disorder (Gunderson, Phillips, Triebwasser, & Hirschfeld, 1994), the Depressive Personality Disorder Inventory (Huprich, Margrett, Barthelemy, & Fine, 1996), and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders (First, Gibbon, Spitzer, Williams, & Benjamin, 1997a)-to evaluate their convergent and discriminant validity. Evidence supporting the measures' validity was mixed. The rate of convergence of depressive personality diagnoses across 3 measures was less than optimal, but the degree of intercorrelation among the measures was strong. Although depressive personality scores had moderate levels of intercorrelations with other personality disorders, the degree of intercorrelation decreased substantially after controlling for depressive symptoms. I conclude that further work is needed to strengthen the validity of measures of DPD.

Depressive Disorder↗

PubMed1997

Convergent and discriminant validity of measures of parenting efficacy and control.

Examined the convergent and discriminant validity of the Parent Attribution Test (PAT; Bugental, Blue, & Cruzcosa, 1989), the Parental Locus of Control Scale (PLOC; Campis, Lyman, & Prentice-Dunn, 1986), and the Parenting Sense of Competence-Efficacy Scale (PSOC-Efficacy; Johnston & Mash, 1989) in 3 samples of community mothers. In the 1st 2 samples, mothers also completed measures of negative affect and social desirability. In the 3rd sample, the PAT and PSOC-Efficacy scales were administered with measures of adult attachment style and child behavior problems. There was weak support for the convergent validity of the measures. Moreover, the discriminant validity of the measures was not adequately demonstrated. Our results suggest that PLOC and PSOC-Efficacy scores may reflect distress and response style as well as beliefs about parenting. Scores on the PAT, although less influenced by response style and distress, appear to reflect a different dimension of efficacy than that assessed by other self-report measures.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

A novel role for a nodal-related protein; Xnr3 regulates convergent extension movements via the FGF receptor.

Convergent extension behaviour is critical for the formation of the vertebrate body axis. In Xenopus, components of the Wnt signaling pathway have been shown to be required for convergent extension movements but the relationship between cell fate and morphogenesis is little understood. We show by loss of function analysis that Xnr3 activates Xbra expression through FGFR1. We show that eFGF activity is not essential in the pathway, and that dishevelled acts downstream of Xnr3 and not in a parallel pathway. We provide evidence for the involvement of the EGF-CFC protein FRL1, and suggest that the pro-domain of Xnr3 may be required for its activity. Since Xnr3 is a direct target of the maternal betacatenin/XTcf3 signaling pathway, it provides the link between the initial, maternally controlled, allocation of cell fate, and the morphogenetic movements of cells derived from the organizer.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Convergence and divergence, a concept for explaining drug actions.

For the teaching and/or learning about drug actions and for the discovery and development of new drugs, it is important to understand how drugs act on living bodies. So far, there has been no clear description on the general principle of drug action in pharmacology textbooks. We propose two principles to depict the action mechanism of drugs. The first is that most, if not all, drugs act on proteins at the molecular level, that is, enzymes, receptors, ion channels, and transporters. The second is that a drug may cause divergent or convergent responses, resulting in changes of a physiological or pathological function of the human body. The concept of divergence and convergence can be used to explain the complex individuality of drug actions.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Unhealthy assimilation: why do immigrants converge to American health status levels?

It is well documented that immigrants are in better health upon arrival in the United States than their American counterparts but that this health advantage erodes over time. We study the potential determinants of this "healthy immigrant effect, " with a particular focus on the tendency of immigrants to converge to unhealthy American BMI levels. Using data from the National Health Interview Survey, we find that average female and male immigrants enter the United States with BMIs that are approximately two and five percentage points lower than native-born women and men, respectively. Consistent with the declining health status of immigrants the longer they remain in the United States, we also find that female immigrants almost completely converge to American BMIs within 10 years of arrival, and men close a third of the gap within 15 years.

Acculturation↗

PubMed2006

Optical characterization of a reference instrument for gloss measurements in both a collimated and a converging beam geometry.

A reference instrument has been developed at the National Research Council of Canada for rapid, reproducible specular gloss measurements. The design and validation of this instrument for specular gloss measurements in accordance with standard methods for paints and plastics at 20 degree, 60 degree, and 85 degree geometries [American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D523 and the International Organization for Standards (ISO) 2813] have been recently reported. These standard methods require a collimated beam geometry. Here we present the optical design considerations and characterization of this instrument to extend its gloss measurement capabilities to specular gloss measurements of paper samples at 75 degree geometry in accordance with standard test methods requiring a converging beam geometry (ASTM D1223 and TAPPI T480). This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first reported reference instrument that provides direct traceability for both types of standard gloss method and applications. The design challenge was to convert from a collimated beam to converging beam geometry while meeting the rigorous requirements of beam uniformity at the sample and receptor apertures specified in the 75 degree geometry test methods. We describe the innovative design to achieve this degree of functionality and reference instrument performance. The instrument's optical performance has been characterized theoretically and by comparison with measurement results. The light collection and detection systems have been analyzed via Monte Carlo simulation and ray tracing. The instrument validation includes comparison of the measurement results with theoretical gloss values for quartz, black glass, Vitrolite, and mirror gloss working standards, giving agreement of better than 0.32%. Measurement validation also involved participation in the Collaborative Testing Services program interlaboratory comparison measurements of 75 degree gloss for white papers.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1985

Receptive-field symmetry probed using converging gratings.

Contrast-sensitivity functions (CSF's) for converging and diverging gratings were obtained under voluntary fixation at several field widths and under retinal stabilization at one field width. In general, these types of gratings had similar CSF's at all temporal frequencies tested, a result that can be explained by plausible spatiotemporal receptive-field models possessing spatial antisymmetry but not by models possessing pure (even) spatial symmetry. Phase condition at the central line in converging and diverging gratings affected grating detectability at high spatial frequencies, as expected.

Differential Threshold↗

PubMed2003

Rapidly convergent phase-retrieval strategy for use with reflected laser light.

An approach for wave-front sensing using reflected laserlight from a rough object is proposed. Light from a single laser beam is split into two beams, and the beams are launched from spatially separated apertures to illuminate an object. The reflected laser light is measured in the pupil plane of a receive telescope and in a plane conjugate to the object. By modulation of one of the two illuminator beams, the intensity pattern associated with each beam, as well as the field cross product of the two beams, is measured in each plane. A phase-retrieval algorithm is formulated by using projections onto constraint sets to recover the complex field associated with each illuminator. The algorithm is found to converge rapidly to the correct solution, particularly when compared with the convergence rates of more conventional phase-retrieval approaches. The new algorithm exhibits excellent performance in strong scintillation and is very tolerant to noise, exhibiting only a very small noise gain.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

Three-dimensional converging-diverging Gaussian beam diffraction by a volume grating.

The diffraction characteristics of a volume grating (VG) illuminated by a three-dimensional (3-D) converging-diverging Gaussian beam at conical incidence are investigated by applying 3-D finite-beam (FB) rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) based on the conventional 3-D RCWA in conjunction with two-dimensional plane-wave decomposition. The Gaussian beam is assumed to have an arbitrary incidence angle, an arbitrary azimuthal angle, and any linear polarization. The two cases with linear polarizations of the central beam of the Gaussian (E perpendicular K and H perpendicular K) are investigated. The diffraction efficiencies and the diffracted beam profiles for both unslanted VGs and slanted VGs (designed for substrate-mode optical interconnects) are presented. In general, the diffraction efficiencies of a converging-diverging spherical Gaussian beam diffracted by both unslanted VGs and slanted VGs increase and approach the central-beam results as the refractive-index modulation increases.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Numerical calculation of a converging vector electromagnetic wave diffracted by an aperture using Borgnis potentials. II. Application to the study of focal shift.

Focal shift of the converging spherical wavefront light diffracted by a circular aperture is numerically studied with the method of calculating the vector diffractive field by using Borgnis potentials given in Part I [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A23, 872 (2006)]. The quantitative dependence of the focal shift on the geometric parameters is discussed. The focal shift is mainly determined by the Fresnel number (N(f)) on the geometric focusing plane of the converging light, and an empirical formula between the fractional focal shift and the Fresnel number is deduced for N(f)<2. The focal shift of the same geometry is also studied on the basis of the scalar Rayleigh theory of diffraction, and its comparison with and difference from the result of our method are presented.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

Focal transformation and the Gouy phase shift of converging one-cycle surface acoustic waves excited by femtosecond laser pulses.

We studied the changes of the pulse shape and the phase of the spectral components in converging-surface acoustic wave pulses. These pulses were excited with a femtosecond laser by a thermoelastic mechanism. To produce converging acoustic pulses, the laser beam was focused with an axicon in a circle on the surface of an aluminum sample. During propagation through the focus, the shape of the pulses of the normal surface velocity changed from two to three polar. The absolute value of the phase of the spectral components experienced a change close to pi/2 rad (Gouy phase shift) after passage of the focal region. These observations were confirmed by analytical and numerical calculations based on the two-dimensional wave equation for surface acoustic waves.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2026

From gut to pancreas: Shared genetic susceptibility and biological convergence in acute pancreatitis and Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND: Acute pancreatitis (AP) and Crohn's disease (CD) exhibit overlapping clinical presentations and an unexpectedly high rate of comorbidity. Whether this reflects shared genetic susceptibilities remains unclear. METHODS: We performed a cross-trait genome-wide association analysis leveraging European-ancestry summary statistics for AP (Ncases = 8446; Ncontrols = 437,418) and CD (Ncases = 12,194; Ncontrols = 28,072). Firstly, cross-trait genetic correlation was estimated using linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) and high-definition likelihood (HDL). Secondly, to pinpoint specific pleiotropic loci and prioritize candidate genes, we employed PLACO under a rigorous composite null hypothesis, integrated with Bayesian colocalization and SMR/HEIDI analyses. Finally, we dissected the underlying biological context by mapping tissue-specific regulatory enrichment and pathway convergence using FUMA, MAGMA, and Stratified LD Score Regression (S-LDSC). RESULTS: AP and CD showed significant positive genetic correlation (LDSC: rg = 0.178, SE = 0.079, P = 0.025; HDL: rg = 0.294, SE = 0.096, P = 0.0021). Pleiotropy analyses revealed 86 SNPs and 6 independent genome-wide significant pleiotropic loci (lead variants at 5q33.1, 6q22.33, 7q34, 10q24.2, 15q22.33 and 19q13.11, PPLACO < 5 × 10-8). Colocalization showed suggestive evidence of a shared causal signal at 6q22.33 (PP4 = 0.666). Gene-based tests of the AP-CD cross-trait statistics prioritized eight pleiotropic genes-RSPO3, ATG16L1, SMAD3, FADS1, ZPBP2, FADS2, PRKAA1 and IRGM. Gene-set analyses highlighted IL-23/Th17-related and broader inflammatory response pathways. CONCLUSIONS: AP and CD share polygenic susceptibility and converge on immune and inflammatory processes, with prioritized genes pointing to autophagy, lipid metabolism and TGF-β/SMAD-related biology.

Humans↗

PubMed2006

Do lamellipodia have the mechanical capacity to drive convergent extension?

Convergent extension (CE), a kinematic motif associated with several important morphogenetic movements in embryos, entails narrowing of a tissue in one in-plane direction and elongation in the other. Although the cell elongation and intercalation which accompany this process have been investigated and relevant genes and biochemical pathways have been studied in multiple organisms, a fundamental question that has not yet been answered is "Do the lamellipodia thought to drive these motions actually have the mechanical capacity to do so?" Here, we address this and a number of related issues using a state-of-the-art computational model which can replicate cell motions, changes in cell shape and tissue deformations. The model is based on the cell-level finite element approach of Chen and Brodland, but has additional features which allow it to model lamellipodium formation and contraction. In studying CE, computational models provide an important complement to molecular approaches because they reveal the "mechanical pathways" through which gene products must ultimately act in order to produce physical movements. The model shows that lamellipodia can drive CE, that they do so through cell intercalations and that the elongated cells characteristic of CE arise only when adjacent tissues resist convergence, a result which we confirm experimentally.

Ambystoma mexicanum↗

PubMed2003

Recent theoretical convergences in psychoanalysis and their epistemological importance.

In this paper, the author starts by examining the recent occurrence of an increasing receptivity and critical exchange between different schools of psychoanalytical thought. Among its consequences have been convergences in the understanding of countertransference, especially through the hypotheses of projective identification and countertransferential enactment. The prevalence of these hypotheses points towards the fact that the community of analysts is bringing about an informal and convergent clinical research conducted by a wide and heterogeneous range of its members. The importance and epistemological relevance of this kind of 'informal clinical research' for the construction of psychoanalytical knowledge is emphasised. This process in psychoanalysis is compared with the evolution of knowledge in other scientific areas, highlighting their similarities and their differences. The author shows how Freud's 'mystic writing-pad'model can be expanded to represent the object of psychoanalytical investigation and to bring a better understanding of the reason why the hypotheses of projective identification and countertransferential enactment occupy such a central position in psychoanalysis. In addition, consideration is given to how this kind of research can help in the difficult task of finding criteria for the evaluation of different psychoanalytical concepts. Finally, the author demonstrates how, using this approach, some of the important divergences in contemporary psychoanalysis can be viewed from a new perspective.

Biomedical Research↗

PubMed2005

Convergence of self-report and archival crash involvement data: a two-year longitudinal follow-up.

This study constructively extends Arthur et al. (2001) by assessing the convergence of self-report and archival motor vehicle crash involvement and moving violations data in a 2-year longitudinal follow-up. The relationships among these criteria, conscientiousness, and driving speed were also assessed using both predictive and postdictive criterion-related validation designs. Data were collected from a 2-year follow-up sample of 334 participants. Results suggested a lack of convergence between self-report and archival data at both Time 1 and Time 2. In addition, the predictor/criterion relationships varied across research design and data source. An actual application of our findings is that the interpretation of relationships between specified predictors and crash involvement and moving violations must be made within the context of the criterion-related validation design and criterion data source. Specifically, predictive designs may produce results different from those of postdictive designs (which are more commonly used). Furthermore, self-report data appear to include a broader range of incidents (more crashes and tickets), and thus researchers should consider using self-report data when they are interested in including lower threshold crashes and tickets that may not be reported on state records (e.g., because of the completion of a defensive driving course).

Accidents, Traffic↗