What is wrong with the measles vaccine in Mexico? Study of an epidemic outbrake of measles

Chemical and electronic synapses are present in the ocellar synaptic region of the moth, Trichoplusia ni. The chemical synapses all appear to be of "conventional" type. Four different chemical synaptic contacts were observed: Receptor cell axons presynaptic to receptor cell axons, receptor cell axons presynaptic to 1st order interneurons, 1st order interneurons presynaptic to receptor cell axons, and 1st order interneurons presynaptic to 1st order interneurons. Two different types of contact made by electronic synapes were observed: Contacts between receptor cell axons and 1st order interneurons, and contacts between 1st order interneurons. The significance of this synaptic arrangement for the generation of "on" and "off" responses in the 1st order interneurons is discussed.     

The structure of G.P. zones in an AlCuZn alloy

An Al-46 at.% Cu-2.20 at.% Zn crystal was quenched and aged at 353 K for 24 h. Anomalous dispersion was used to separate the effects of Cu and Zn in the diffuse scattering by measuring the diffuse scattering in absolute units at two different energies for each respective absorption edge. The scattering contrast between these two conditions near each edge was analyzed to get the short range order parameters for AlCu and AlZn pairs. Via computer simulation with these parameters the Cu was found to lie in small {100} plates and the Zn in short 〈110〉 strings that probably lie on planes adjacent to the Cu plates.     

Mission possible? The performance of prosocially motivated employees depends on manager trustworthiness.

The authors propose that in mission-driven organizations, prosocially motivated employees are more likely to perform effectively when trust cues enhance their perceptions of task significance. The authors develop and test a model linking prosocial motivation, trust cues, task significance, and performance across 3 studies of fundraisers using 3 different objective performance measures. In Study 1, perceiving managers as trustworthy strengthened the relationship between employees’ prosocial motivation and performance, measured in terms of calls made. This moderated relationship was mediated by employees’ perceptions of task significance. Study 2 replicated the interaction of manager trustworthiness and prosocial motivation in predicting a new measure of performance: dollars raised. It also revealed 3-way interactions between prosocial motivation, manager trustworthiness, and dispositional trust propensity, such that high trust propensity compensated for low manager trustworthiness to strengthen the association between employees’ prosocial motivation and performance. Study 3 replicated all of the previous mediation and moderation findings in predicting initiative taken by professional fundraisers. Implications for work motivation, work design, and trust in organizations are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Ninth Circuit Court's treatment of the history of suicide by Ancient Jews and Christians in Compassion in Dying v. State of Washington: historical naivete or special pleading?

In this article, Prof. Darrel Amundsen critiques Judge Reinhardt's comments regarding "Historical Attitudes Toward Suicide" in his Compassion in Dying opinion. Amundsen demonstrates that the court's characterization of ancient Jewish and Christian practices is inaccurate and misleading because it fails to acknowledge the complexities of the moral issue of suicide. Amundsen discusses martyrdom, suicide in general, suicide by the ill, and euthanasia in ancient Judaism. In contrast to the court's commentary, Amundsen demonstrates that regard for human life is a central feature of Jewish ethical monotheism. Furthermore, the author challenges the court's conclusions about early Christianity, and explains why its treatment of the issue of suicide in early Christianity is misleading and inaccurate. Amundsen's discussion of early Christianity includes suicide, martyrdom, and especially the Augustinian teaching on suicide. He concludes that the court's treatment of the issue of suicide in early Christianity is so historically and conceptually muddled as to be fundamentally inaccurate.     

The effect of temperature on strain rate sensitivity in an AlMgSi alloy

The effect of temperature on strain rate sensitivity has been studied in an AlMgSi alloy in the range of dynamic strain ageing. Two regimes of behaviour were observed which depended on the temperature. At low temperatures (T <- 303 K) it was possible to correlate all strain rate sensitivity measurements with a single strain/strain rate/temperature parameter. In the high temperature regime the temperature and strain rate dependence of the strain rate sensitivity deviated significantly from that measured at low temperatures. The two regimes of behaviour were found to correspond with the normal and inverse Portevin-Le Chatelier effect.     

The impact of self-efficacy on stressor–strain relations: Coping style as an explanatory mechanism.

The present study was designed to examine whether coping style influences the impact of self-efficacy on stressor–strain relations. It was hypothesized that high self-efficacy would weaken stressor–strain relations when accompanied by frequent use of active coping and infrequent use of avoidance coping. Data collected from 2,293 members of the U.S. Army revealed 3-way interactions among self-efficacy, role clarity, and active coping and among self-efficacy, work overload, and avoidance coping. As predicted, self-efficacy mitigated the effects of low role clarity on strain only when active coping was high. Also as expected, strain levels were lower for participants with high self-efficacy than for participants with lower self-efficacy when work overload was low but avoidance coping was high. Implications of these findings for occupational stress research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The oriented growth of precipitates on dislocations in Al-Zn-Mg—part I. Experimental observations

The weak-beam transmission electron microscope technique was employed to examine the precipitation of η phase laths on dislocation lines in Al-3.87 wt.% Zn-1.79 wt.% Mg. The use of this technique allowed the observation of fine-scale particles which were still in intimate contact with their catalyzing dislocations, and so would presumably most strongly reflect the role of dislocations during particle growth.The lath-like particles generally formed with their long axes (preferred growth directions) in the dislocation glide planes and parallel to the 〈110〉 matrix directions closest to the estimated initial orientations of the catalyzing defects. During these early stages of growth, the randomly oriented dislocations maintained contiguity with the lengthening particles by bending in their glide planes to accommodate the preferred growth directions of the particles. The misorientation angle between the 〈110〉 growth direction of a lath and the initial orientation of its associated dislocation was found to affect the particle growth kinetics: Laths growing at larger misorientation angles were found to be significantly shorter than those growing at smaller angles for the same aging time.     

The role of mentor trust and protégé internal locus of control in formal mentoring relationships.

This study examined the relationship between mentor trust, protégé internal locus of control, and the mentoring functions reported by protégés. The matched mentor–protégé sample came from a formal mentoring program in China. We found a positive relationship between protégés’ internal locus of control and the extent of mentoring functions they reported receiving. Mentors’ affect-based trust was positively related to the extent of mentoring functions protégés reported receiving regardless of their internal locus of control. However, mentors’ cognition-based trust was positively related to protégés’ report of the extent of mentoring functions only for protégés who were lower in internal locus of control. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Got political skill? The impact of justice on the importance of political skill for job performance.

The present study examined the moderating effects of procedural and distributive justice on the relationships between political skill and task performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) among 175 supervisor–subordinate dyads of a government organization. Using Mischel’s (1968) situationist perspective, high justice conditions were considered “strong situations,” whereas low justice conditions were construed as “weak situations.” We found that when both procedural and distributive justice were low, political skill was positively related to performance. Under conditions of both high procedural and high distributive justice, political skill was negatively related to performance. Finally, under conditions of low distributive justice, political skill was positively related to OCB, whereas under conditions of high distributive justice, political skill had little effect on OCB. These results highlight the importance of possessing political skill in weak but not strong situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Malignancy in Peutz-Jeghers syndrome? The pitfall of pseudo-invasion

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is a malignancy-associated polyposis syndrome. We describe a histopathologic phenomenon easily encountered when examining the nature of Peutz-Jeghers polyps but that is underreported in the literature. This phenomenon of "pseudo-invasion" may mimic invasive carcinoma due to epithelial displacement and erroneously give the impression, both macroscopically and microscopically, that a malignancy is involved. This potential pitfall is illustrated by the case of a patient with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome who was thought to harbor a metastasizing adenocarcinoma in his small bowel with peritoneal metastasis as a perioperative finding. Histologic examination, however, revealed pseudo-invasion.     

Current aspects of infectious diseases in industrialized countries: development or history?

Man's conception of nature is a historically dated phenomenon. Thus the recent development of infectious diseases in industrialized countries could either be a real phenomenon or simply an artifact related to our current conception of medical progress and research. Is the return of infectious disease a natural process or has modern civilization been less prudent than its predecessors? What are the characteristic features of modern pathogenesis? Are these "changes" the result of some natural dynamics or an evolution in our means of investigation? Modern civilization has not invented technological deviation or diseases of civilization, phenomena well know in the past, but what is new is the fact that science today, with an ever growing amount of information on molecular epidemiology, is still raising questions about infection, recognized new unsuspected forms of the living world which do not fit into our well-knitted outline of infectious agents. We have applied our simplistic and mechanistic schemas designed for the timespan of human life to the evolutionary processes. The effects of evolution and history are thus combined today in a novel way composing a new future for infectious diseases. This new way of looking at infectious diseases is not totally natural nor totally historical. It is perhaps an epistemological revolution going on within epidemiology. The return of infections disease would appear to have a direct effect on magnifying the knowledge and the delinquency of our culture.     

Effects of dopamine D?-like and D?-like agonists in rats trained to discriminate cocaine from saline: Influence of experimental history.

Effects of D?-like and D?-like agonists were compared in rats (Rattus norvegicus) with differing levels of experience (24 or 9 mo) in a cocaine discrimination procedure (5.6 mg/kg cocaine; fixed-ratio 20 schedule of food presentation). Cocaine d-amphetamine, and D?-like agonists (quinelorane, 7-OH-DPAT) dose-dependently substituted cocaine in both groups of rats. In contrast D?-like agonists (SKF 82958, SKF 7734) substituted for cocaine only in rats with less discrimination experience. Pretreatment with D?-like agonists increased the stimulus effects of low cocaine-doses in both groups, whereas D?-like agonists produced these effects only in rats with less discrimination experience. The data suggest that the stimulus effects of cocaine overlap with those of D?-like agonists across a broader range of conditions than with those of D?-like agonists. Thus, D?-like receptors may play an especially important role in cocaine's behavioral effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Influence of Hydrogen Concentration in an Ar–H2 Mixture on the Electrical Properties of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Powder Metallurgy and Metal Ceramics - Fuel cells are today among the most efficient and environmentally friendly devices for the production of electricity. They are developing rapidly and are...     

Payment or repayment? The problem of private practice.

"From Freud on, it has been recognized that there is always a 'masochistic element' in neurotic and functionally psychotic individuals… . We need to be very sure that, in the fees which are charged for that otherwise doubtful service known as psychotherapy, we do not fall into the trap of merely gratifying this need for punishment on the part of the patient… . We need to be very certain… that 'therapy' does not become merely a form of expiation, much as electrically induced convulsions or hospitalization (with its overtones of imprisonment) does for others, who cannot afford 'psychotherapy."' The greatest weakness and defect of private practice "lies precisely in the fact that it offers as treatment what, in reality, is the very essence of the disease itself, namely continued privacy and personal withdrawal. Now we are coming to see that the way to feel better is to be better, in the ethical and interpersonal sense of the term." The neurotic's insecurity "stems from real guilt, which can be satisfactorily resolved only by radical openness and restitution." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of aging on hydrogen trapping in ß-titanium alloys

The ingress of hydrogen in three ß-titanium alloys (Beta-C, Ti10V2Fe3Al, and Ti13V11Cr3Al) and an α-ß titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) was investigated with a view to characterizing their interaction with hydrogen. A technique referred to as hydrogen ingress analysis by potentiostatic pulsing (HIAPP) was used to obtain anodic current transients for the unaged and aged ß-Ti alloys and as-received Ti-6-4 in an acetate buffer (1 mol L⁻¹ HAc/l mol L⁻¹ NaAc, where Ac = acetate). The transients were analyzed using a diffusion/trapping model under interface control conditions to evaluate the trapping constants and hydrogen entry flux in each case. A marked increase in irreversible trapping was observed for the ß-titanium alloys with aging and was attributed to precipitation of secondary α phase. Aging also induced changes in the passive film and hence the hydrogen entry flux. Ti-13-11-3 and Ti-10-2-3 are predicted to become less resistant to hydrogen embrittlement with aging as a result of increases in both the trapping constant (at least for Ti-13-11-3) and the flux. In contrast, the change in resistance of Beta-C Ti with aging is subject to the opposing effects of a reduced flux and an enhanced trapping capability, though the latter appears to have the primary effect, rendering aged Beta-C Ti less resistant to hydrogen embrittlement than the unaged alloy.     

The benefits and costs of repeated testing on the learning of face–name pairs in healthy older adults.

We compared the benefits of repeated testing and repeated study on cued recall of unfamiliar face–name pairs in healthy middle-aged and older adults. We extended Karpicke and Roediger's (2008) paradigm to compare the effects of repeated study versus repeated testing after each face–name pair was correctly recalled once. The results from Experiment 1, which provided no feedback during the acquisition phase, yielded a crossover interaction: Middle-aged adults showed the expected benefit of repeated testing, whereas older adults produced a benefit of repeated study. When participants were given feedback in Experiment 2, both middle-aged and older adults benefited from repeated testing. We suggest that for face–name pairs, feedback may be particularly important for individuals who have relatively poor memory to produce benefits from repeated testing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)