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BackgroundSomatisation is a common and frustrating clinical problem in primary care.MethodUsing structural diagnoses and functional measures, we examined the prevalence and associated features of somatisation disorder defined by three current nosologies and an abridged construct in subjects using primary care services.ResultsSomatisation disorder, diagnosed according to the standard criteria, was found to have a very low prevalence (range 0.06-0.5%), while more than one-fifth of the sample (22%) met the criteria for the abridged diagnosis. There was poor agreement between succeeding versions of the DSM system for identifying cases of somatisation disorder, each system ending up with rather disparate sets of individuals as well as variable levels of psychopathology and disability.ConclusionsAccording to these data, standard somatisation disorder diagnoses add little to the prediction of disability/psychopathology beyond the contributions of an abridged construct of somatisation.

The object of this study was to assess the prevalence and correlates of the DSM-IV diagnosis of hypochondriasis in a primary care setting. A large sample (N = 1456) of primary care users was given a structured interview to make diagnoses of mood, anxiety, and somatoform disorders and estimate levels of disability. The prevalence of hypochondriasis (DSM-IV) was about 3%. Patients with this disorder had higher levels of medically unexplained symptoms (abridged somatization) and were more impaired in their physical functioning than patients without the disorder. Of the various psychopathologies examined, major depressive syndromes were the most frequent among patients with hypochondriasis. Interestingly, unlike somatization disorder, hypochondriasis was not related to any demographic factor. Hypochondriasis is a relatively rare condition in primary care that is largely separable from somatization disorder but seems closely intertwined with the more severe depressive syndromes.

A study has been made of the effect of an externally imposed, low-frequency modulation ([less than or equal to] 100 Hz) on the action of a fluid in machining. It is shown that in conventional machining, fluid action in terms of lubrication is essentially confined to the edges of the chip-tool contact along the tool rake face, with little or no change in the friction condition over much of this face. However, the effectiveness of the lubricating action is significantly enhanced when a controlled low-frequency modulation of sufficient amplitude, such as to break the chip-tool contact, is imposed in the direction of cutting. Measurements show that the friction coefficient between tool and chip is reduced by a factor of up to three in the presence of such a modulation. The extent of the secondary deformation zone in the chip material close to the rake face is also significantly reduced. Direct observations of the tool rake face show that when the modulation is applied, the fluid penetrates into much of the intimate contact region between chip and tool. Keywords: Machining, Modulation, Friction, Lubrication

The performance of a cross-functional team depends on the skillful and innovative combination of information and expertise from all team members. Communication is the medium through which team members share the information required for successful amalgamation. In this work, we postulate that both high and low levels of team communication can impede team performance, thus leading to a curvilinear relationship between team performance and team communication. To test this hypothesis, the relationships between face-to-face, e-mail, and telephone communication and team performance were examined for 60 cross-functional project teams. E-mail and face-to-face communication were curvilinearly associated with performance, but telephone communication was not. Further analysis of the communication frequency between colocations showed that e-mail is the only medium for which usage increased with distance. Index Terms--Cross-functional teams, e-mail, team communication, team performance.