The Interfacial Interactions of Glycine and Short Glycine Peptides in Model Membrane Systems

The interactions of amino acids and peptides at model membrane interfaces have considerable implications for biological functions, with the ability to act as chemical messengers, hormones, neurotransmitters, and even as antibiotics and anticancer agents. In this study, glycine and the short glycine peptides diglycine, triglycine, and tetraglycine are studied with regards to their interactions at the model membrane interface of Aerosol-OT (AOT) reverse micelles via ¹H NMR spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and Langmuir trough measurements. It was found that with the exception of monomeric glycine, the peptides prefer to associate between the interface and bulk water pool of the reverse micelle. Monomeric glycine, however, resides with the N-terminus in the ordered interstitial water (stern layer) and the C-terminus located in the bulk water pool of the reverse micelle.     

Thai and American perspectives on over- and undercontrolled child behavior problems: Exploring the threshold model among parents, teachers, and psychologists.

When a child has psychological problems, what determines whether adults will consider the problems serious or whether they will seek professional help? One determinant may be cultural: Prevailing social values may help set adult thresholds for concern over child problems. We explored this possibility, comparing adults in Thailand and the United States, two countries where social values and perspectives on childhood differ markedly. Thai and American parents, teachers, and clinical psychologists made judgments about two children, one with overcontrolled problems (e.g., shyness, fear) and one with undercontrolled problems (e.g., disobedience, fighting). Consistent with some of the literature on Thai Buddhist values, Thais (compared with Americans) rated problems of both types as less serious, less worrisome, less likely to reflect personality traits, and more likely to improve with time. Cross-national differences in perceived seriousness were more pronounced for parents and teachers than for psychologists, suggesting that professional culture may mitigate the effects of national culture. Evidently, adults' judgments about child clinical problems can differ markedly as a function of their cultural context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of physical structures in bulk oils on lipid oxidation

Lipid oxidation is important to food manufacturers especially when they increase unsaturated lipids in their products to improve nutritional profiles. Unfortunately, the number of antioxidants available to food manufacturers to control oxidative rancidity is limited and the approval of new antioxidants is unlikely due to economic barriers in obtaining government approval for new food additives. Therefore, new antioxidant technologies are needed for food oils. This paper reviews the current knowledge of lipid oxidation in foods with emphasis on how physical properties of food systems impact oxidation chemistry. In particular, the role of association colloids in bulk oils on lipid oxidation chemistry is discussed in an attempt to understand mechanisms of oxidation. Increasing the understanding of how physical properties impact lipid oxidation could lead to the development of novel antioxidant technologies that not only protect the oil against oxidation and increase shelf-life but also allow food manufacturers to include more nutritionally beneficial fatty acids in their products.     

Culture and youth psychopathology: Testing the syndromal sensitivity model in Thai and American adolescents.

Current widespread use of the same youth assessment measures and scales across different nations assumes that youth psychopathology syndromes do not differ meaningfully across nations. By contrast, the authors' syndromal sensitivity model posits 3 processes through which cultural differences can lead to cross-national differences in psychopathology syndromes. The authors tested this model in a comparison of Child Behavior Checklist syndromes for adolescents in Thailand and the United States. In support of the model, about half of the Thai-U.S. syndrome comparisons showed poor agreement (kappa = .40), and distinctive Thai syndromes emerged reflecting 3 prominent themes in Thai research literature: delayed maturation, indirect aggression and/or delinquency, and sex problems in boys. Such syndromal dissimilarity carries significant implications for assessment, diagnosis, epidemiology, and intervention across national boundaries. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Over- and undercontrolled referral problems among children and adolescents from Thailand and the United States: The wat and wai of cultural differences.

To understand children's psychological problems and corresponding clinic referral patterns, we need to consider the impact of culturally mediated values and socialization practices. Consider Thailand, a Buddhist nation, in which children's aggression and other undercontrolled behaviors are disapproved and discouraged, whereas their inhibition and other overcontrolled behaviors may often be condoned or even encouraged. We compared Thailand to the United States, where undercontrolled behavior among children seems more likely to be condoned. We recorded the behavior problems reported by parents in both countries (N?=?760) when they referred their child or adolescent for clinic treatment. Overcontrolled problems (e.g., somaticizing, fearfulness, nervous movements, worrying) were reported much more often for Thai than for U.S. youngsters; undercontrolled problems (e.g., disobedience, fighting, lying, arguing) were reported much more often for U.S. youth than for Thais. Overcontrolled problems were noted especially often among Thai adolescents, the group most exposed to traditional Buddhist teaching and most encouraged to inhibit outward expression of feelings. The findings suggest that culture, developmental level, and their interplay may be linked to substantial differences in the problems for which youngsters are referred for treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral and emotional problems among Thai and American adolescents: parent reports for ages 12-16

We studied adolescents' behavioral and emotional problems in the United States and in Thailand, a Buddhist country in which, reportedly, aggression is discouraged and self-control, emotional restraint, and social inhibition are encouraged. Standardized parent reports on 118 problems revealed 45 Thai-U.S. differences. Thai adolescents were reported to show more overcontrolled problems (e.g., shyness, compulsivity, inhibition of talking, fearfulness, and constipation) than American adolescents (p < .0001). The two groups did not differ reliably in total undercontrolled problems, but Americans showed higher levels of direct, overt, and interpersonally aggressive undercontrol (e.g., fighting and bullying), whereas Thais showed more indirect and subtle undercontrol that was not interpersonally aggressive (e.g., sulking and sullenness). The findings suggest that different cultures may be linked to different styles of adolescent problem behavior.     

GaN/AIN multiple quantum wells grown on GaN-AIN waveguide structure by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy

High-optical-confinement waveguide structure based on nitride semiconductors is proposed and demonstrated for the first time with metal organic vaporphase epitaxy. The waveguide structure composed of 1-μm-thick AIN cladding layer, 2-μm-thick GaN guiding layer, and 40 periods of GaN/AIN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) was grown using optimized growth conditions for each layer. For improved material quality, the two-step growth technique using low-temperature AIN and GaN nucleation layers was utilized to reduce the stress induced by lattice mismatch between each layer. The high-optical-confinement structure could therefore be grown with high quality, leading to a successful observation of inter-sub-band absorption in GaN/AIN MQWs. The inter-sub-band absorption wavelength observed in such structure is in good agreement with that of MQWs grown on GaN layer, showing that the proposed waveguide structure can be used as a standard structure for optical devices based on inter-sub-band absorption.     

Syndromal structure of psychopathology in children of Thailand and the United States.

Are the syndromes of child psychopathology similar across cultures? Yes, in most comparisons of Western cultures. Here the authors compared Thailand and the United States, Eastern and Western cultures differing markedly in racial/ethnic composition, religious-philosophical traditions, and beliefs and practices regarding children. Exploratory factor analysis and a useful kappa approach were used to compare Child Behavior Checklist factor structure in Thai and American children aged 6 to 11. A few syndromes (e.g., somatic problems) showed strong cross-cultural agreement; most did not. Among the narrowband syndromes (e.g., aggression, anxiety), more than half the cross-cultural comparisons showed concordance kappas at or below .40. Such differences in syndromal structure have implications for child classification, assessment, psychopathology, and treatment research, both across and within cultures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral and emotional problems among Thai and American adolescents: Parent reports for ages 12–16.

Studied adolescents' behavioral and emotional problems in the US and in Thailand, a Buddhist country in which, reportedly, aggression is discouraged and self-control, emotional restraint, and social inhibition are encouraged. Standardized parent reports on 118 problems revealed 45 Thai–US differences. Thai adolescents were reported to show more overcontrolled problems (e.g., shyness, compulsivity, inhibition of talking, fearfulness, and constipation) than US adolescents (p?     

Physicochemical and emulsifying properties of mung bean protein isolate as influenced by succinylation

The application of mung bean protein in foods is limited due to its poor functionality. Acylation with succinic anhydride could be used to improve the functionalities of protein. In this study, the influence of the weight ratio of succinic anhydride to protein (0–0.10) on the degree of N-acylation, physicochemical properties and protein functionalities including emulsifying properties of mung bean protein isolates (MPI) were investigated. The extent of N-acylation of MPI increased as the succinic anhydride:protein ratio increased, while the ζ-potential at neutral pH decreased. In addition, succinylation had an impact on the average particle size of MPI depending on the succinic anhydride:protein ratio. Succinylation had no impact on the total and exposed free sulfhydryl groups. Moreover, the isoelectric point (pI) of the succinylated proteins shifted from pH 5 to lower pH. Succinylation increased the emulsifying activity index (EAI), while the impact on the emulsion stability index depended on the succinic anhydride:protein ratio. Thus, succinylation at low succinic anhydride:protein ratio can alter mung bean protein charge and affect physicochemical and functional properties especially emulsifying properties that could be used to increase its utilization.