-Little research has been conducted on the reactions of parents, and fathers in particular, following the birth of a child with Down syndrome. Previous studies suggest that gender differences exist in coping strategies and a number of theories have supported this. The current study is informed by Pleck's (1981) Gender Role Strain model which attempts to explain the different socialisation processes males encounter which influence their development in our society. Questionnaires from Carver, Scheier and Weintraub's COPE inventory (1989) were given to parents (n = 150) to measure coping strategies and a number of gender differences were found. Females scored significantly higher than males in seeking instrumental and emotional support; in focusing on and venting emotions; and suppression of competing activities. An additional analysis carried out on parents of young children (n = 74) yielded similar results. The overall findings from the study provides mixed implications for Pleck's theory. Gender differences were found but no value can be ascribed to these different coping strategies.

A B S T R A C TThe measurement of the energy deposited in tissue-like plastic as a beam of low-energy antiprotons slows down is described. The resulting depth-dose curve is presented and compared to that of protons measured under similar conditions. The size of the stopping peak relative to the dose in the plateau is about twice that for protons which indicates that relatively small amounts of energy are deposited locally in an antiproton annihilation. Analysis of the data shows that out of the 2000 MeV available in an antiproton annihilation, on average less than 33 MeV is deposited close to the site of the interaction. This leads to the conclusion that antiprotons are unlikely to offer any marked advantage over other radiations for radiotherapeutic applications of the future.

The basic interactions occurring when very higl1-energy radiation passes through matter are briefly reviewed. It is concluded that the dosimetry near high-energy accelerators involves the measurements of a mixed field composed of proton, neutron, pion and gamma radiation as well as electrons and muons, all covering a very wide energy range.The methods of measuring the rem dose in thesle radiation fields 1 using instrillllentati.on, falls into two categories according to the dose-rate, Above 10 mrem/h, the tissue-equivalent ionization chamber in combination with a parallel plate chamber for quality factor measurements can be used. At lower dose-rates the sensitivity of these chambers limits their use and a system of six different instruments is required. This syotem enables the evaluation of the contribution to the total dose from slow and fast neutrons, high-energy particles and gamma rays.Results of measurements using both these systems are presented for measurements in beams and behind shields of the CERN 600 MeV Synchro-cyclotron and the 28 GeV Proton Synchrotron. Behind thick shields in experimental regions of the PS machine, 11-22% of the total rem dose is caused by slow neutrons, 50-76% by fast neutrons, 2-25% by high-energy radiation, and 2-20% by gamma radiation.

Respiratory transfer impedance (Ztr) measured using the forced oscillation technique requires virtually no patient cooperation and provides a noninvasive approach for acquiring data reflective of lung mechanics. Also, model analysis of Ztr provides reliable estimates of separate airway and tissue properties (1), but only if data out to 64 Hz are acquired. The current study evaluated the clinical utility of Ztr from 1-80 Hz for assessing the degree and type of impaired lung function. Spirometry and Ztr measurements were made on 37 individuals: 11 healthy subjects and 26 patients with lung disease including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, lung cancer, and sarcoidosis. Over the entire patient group, 12 were also smokers. We first established normal ranges for several Ztr features and model estimated mechanical properties. The COPD and smokers groups showed significant differences in portions of their Ztr spectra from that of the healthy group. Key Ztr spectral features included R0, the frequency at which the real part of impedance is zero; and Re4, the real part of impedance at 4 Hz. The key model parameter was airway resistance, Raw. We found Raw, Re4, and R0 to be significantly elevated during disease (p < 0.0005) and to significantly decrease with bronchodilator therapy (p < 0.025). Moreover, we found moderate to strong correlations between R0, Raw, and Re4 versus FVC and R0 versus FEV1. After bronchodilator, changes in R0, Re4, and Raw were correlated with changes in several spirometric indices. The R0 feature has not been previously evaluated since it is typically above 32 Hz (well above 32 Hz in diseased individuals) and not encompassed in previous clinical studies.

Measurements of the attenuation of positive and negative pion beams are described. An analysis is made of bhe results where it is estimated that the average energy locally deposited in a tissue-equivalent absorber by a strong interaction of a negative pion is 19.6 f 1 . 3 Me\-. In the negative pion beam absorption peak it is shown that the a h o r b e d dosr from nuclear interactions amonnts to about 4 5 O A of the total dose.