Reexamination of the deleterious effects of gastrointestinal contrast material on abdominal echography

Diagnostic ultrasound examinations of the abdomen are usually performed prior to barium studies due to deleterious effects of gastrointestinal contrast material on abdominal echography, as demonstrated by Leopold. The authors repeat the classic in vitro study, extending the time of the experiment. As barium settles, ultrasound is able to penetrate barium filled masses. A clinical case of barium filled stomach secondary to gastric outlet obstruction is presented in support of the in vitro findings. Patients with persistent collections of barium of one or two days' duration may undergo abdominal ultrasonic examinations.     

The role of coping self-instructions combined with covert modeling in specific fear reduction

The present investigation examined the role of coping self-instructions in the reduction of specific fear using a covert modeling paradigm. A covert modeling condition (CM), in which subjects imagined a model approaching, handling, and coping successfully with feared snakes, was compared to a group presented with an imagined model coping effectively with snakes while self-instructing fear-reduction strategies (CMS). An attention placebo control group (AC) was included to control for therapist contact. The results indicated that the CMS group produced greater change on self-report measures than the CM and AC groups. The CMS and CM groups did not differ on the behavioral measure. The CM group was significantly different from the AC group on behavioral but not self-report measures. These findings suggest that the addition of self-instructions to covert modeling enhances its effectiveness in reducing cognitive components of fear.The authors would like to thank the following individuals for serving as therapists: Pat Craton, Mary Plungett, Beth Lyons, Kathy Duke, Scott Miller, Cynthia Lanford, and Michel Singer. An expanded version of this text is available upon request from the authors.