Evolving concepts of diagnosis, pathogenesis, and therapy of Sj?gren's syndrome

Differences in diagnostic criteria for Sj?gren's Syndrome (SS) have led to confusion in the research literature and in clinical practice. A particular challenge is the clinical diagnosis of the patients with sicca symptoms, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, vague cognitive defects, and a low titer antinuclear antibody. Until recently, many of these patients would have been classified as primary SS using the European criteria. A suggested revision of the European criteria will require inclusion of anti SS-A antibody or characteristic minor salivary gland biopsy, leading to greater agreement between European and San Diego criteria. Recent studies have emphasized that lacrimal and salivary gland flow involves an entire "functional" unit that includes the mucosal surface (the site of inflammation), efferent nerve signals sent to the midbrain (lacrimatory and salvatory nucleus), efferent neural signals from the brain, and acinal/ductal structures in the gland. Thus, symptoms of dryness or pain can result from interferences with any part of this functional unit. The initiating antigens in SS remain unknown, but immune reactivity against SS-A, SS-B, fodrin, alpha- amylase, and carbonic anhydrase have been demonstrated in patients with established disease. The inflammatory process in the gland releases metalloproteinases that alter the relationship of epithelial cells to their matrix, an interaction that is necessary for glandular function and survival. Therapies for SS remain inadequate. In SS patients with immune-mediated extraglandular manifestation (ie, lung, kidney, skin, nerve), the therapeutic approach is similar to systemic lupus erythematosus, although these therapies have relatively little effect on tear or saliva flow.     

Neuroscience, the food of musical culture?

Music has received enough recent attention from researchers seeking to understand the brain to be called "the food of neuroscience" (R. J. Zatorre & J. McGill, 2005). The dissemination of research on the neuroscience of music, through both popular and academic channels, has the potential to shape the cultural conceptualization of music. This paper considers the impact of neuroscientific approaches to music on the ways that music is practiced and thought about. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The overcitation of examples of poor performance: Fad, fashion, or fun?

Comments on the article by J. J. Christensen-Szalanski and L. R. Beach (see record 1984-21471-001) that suggests that they have uncovered a bias, the propensity to cite experimental publications that demonstrate deficiencies in judgment and decision making over studies that demonstrate competence. This bias indicates what holds psychologists' interest. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Smoking patterns of university students in Eski?ehir, Turkey

Sixteen percent of hospital room surfaces remained colonized by vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) after routine terminal disinfection. Disinfection with a new "bucket method" resulted in uniformly negative cultures. Conventional cleaning took an average of 2.8 disinfections to eradicate VRE from a hospital room, while only one cleaning was required with the bucket method.     

Reductions in the social anxiety of women associated with group membership: Distraction, anonymity, security, or diffusion of evaluation?

This study examined whether social anxiety is diminished among women in the company of a group and, if so, whether it is associated with perceptions of anonymity, being distracted, feelings of security, or an expectation that any evaluation will be diffused across the members of the group. Two social scenarios were presented to 61 female undergraduate students: a physique-salient and a general social situation. For the former situation, self-presentational anxiety was less pronounced in a group of female friends and a mixed group of male and female friends than when alone or in a group of male friends. For the general social situation, in comparison with being alone, being in a group of female friends, being in a group of male friends, and being in a mixed group of male and female friends were associated with less social anxiety. Diffusion of evaluation and perceptions of security were most strongly associated with the reduction in social anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acts of will?

Discusses the articles contained in the present volume addressing the issue of will and the frequent disconnect between what people intend to do and what they actually do. The authors in the series suggest that people perceive themselves to have more control over everyday behavior than they actually do. The authors present a conceptual and empirical framework for understanding the causes of behavior for the times when it is recognized that "will" has broken down and people are unable to act as they desire. According to the authors, the source of behavioral control comes not from active awareness but from subtle cues in the environment and from thought processes and information not readily accessible to consciousness. The theory and data presented in these articles represent recent fundamental breakthroughs in the understanding of motivations, free will and behavioral control. The premise of the 4 articles is this: There are mental activations of which we are unaware and environmental cues to which we are not consciously attending that have a profound effect on our behavior and that help explain the complex puzzle of human motivation and actions that are seemingly inexplicable, even to the individual performing the actions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Failure Load Test of a CFRP Strengthened Railway Bridge in ?rnsk?ldsvik, Sweden

The results obtained when performing a load test to failure of an existing structure are valuable when assessing calculation models, updating finite element models, and investigating the true structural behavior. In this paper a destructive testing and monitoring of a railway bridge in ?rnsk?ldsvik, Sweden is presented. In this particular test the shear capacity of the concrete girders was of primary interest. However, for any reasonable placement of the load (a line load placed transverse to the track direction) a bending failure would occur. This problem was solved by strengthening for flexure using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) rectangular rods epoxy bonded in sawed up slots, e.g., near surface mounted reinforcement. The strengthening was very successful and resulted in a desired shear failure when the bridge was loaded to failure. The load-carrying capacity in bending for the unstrengthened and strengthened bridge as well as the shear capacity was predicted with Monte Carlo simulations. The particular calculation presented showed that there was a 25% probability of a bending failure instead of a shear failure. Monitoring showed that the strengthening reduced the strain in the tensile steel reinforcement by approximately 10%, and increased the height of the compressed zone by 100 mm. When the shear failure occurred, the utilization of the compression concrete and CFRP rods were 100 and 87.5%, respectively. This indicates that a bending failure indeed was about to occur, even though the final failure was in shear.     

Prevalence of dental caries in 12-year-old children in localities of the State of S?o Paulo, Brazil, in 1990-1995

We studied the structure, process, and subjective meaning of "morning report," a time-honored, medical teaching conference attended by faculty, house officers, and students at a pediatric teaching hospital. Methods included participant observation, focused interviews, and content analyses. Results showed substantial variation by rank in behavior, perception, and participation based on a highly structured division of labor. The most frequent suggestion for improving morning report was to shorten it. Data indicate that morning report, at least at our study site, is out of step with current learner-centered models, seems perfunctory, and may be costly in the current climate of decreased revenues and downsizing. The persistence of morning report, despite these liabilities, attests to its significance as a cultural event.     

Learned predictiveness effects in humans: A function of learning, performance, or both?

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 36(1) of Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes (see record 2010-02315-003). In the article “Learned predictiveness effects in humans: A function of learning, performance, or both?” by M. E. Le Pelley, M. B. Suret, and T. Beesley (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 35, 312–327), an incorrect equation was printed. The correct version of Equation 2 is: Δαp > 0 if |λ - Vp| VQ| and Δαp Vp| > |λ - VQ|.] Many previous studies of animal and human learning indicate a processing advantage for cues previously experienced as good predictors of outcomes over those experienced as poorer predictors. Four studies of human associative learning investigated whether learned predictiveness acts at the level of learning (modulating the rate at which cue–outcome associations form), performance (modulating the strength of behavioral responses), or both. In Experiments 1–3, it was found that retrospectively altering the learned predictiveness of cues influenced responding to those cues, demonstrating that learned predictiveness influences performance. Experiment 4 indicates that learned predictiveness also influences learning by demonstrating that the learned predictiveness of a cue affects the acquisition of an association between a novel cue and the outcome with which it is paired. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reassessment of an image?

Comments on an article by M. Feinberg and J. Lefkowitz (see record 1963-02029-001) which examined the image of industrial psychology among corporate executives. According to the commentator, some of the "conclusions" drawn by the authors appear to be substantially at odds with the experiences of those who work in the area of marketing and consumer psychology. The commentator makes three points about this issue and concludes that the facts appear to be at such great odds with the findings as to warrant a reassessment of this particular "image" problem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Syncope during bathing in infants, a pediatric form of water-induced urticaria?

BACKGROUND: Apparent life-threatening events in infants are a difficult and frequent problem in pediatric practice. The prognosis is uncertain because of risk of sudden infant death syndrome. CASE REPORTS: Eight infants aged 2 to 15 months were admitted during a period of 6 years; they suffered from similar maladies in the bath: on immersion, they became pale, hypotonic, still and unreactive; recovery took a few seconds after withdrawal from the bath and stimulation. Two diagnoses were initially considered: seizure or gastroesophageal reflux but this was doubtful. The hypothesis of an equivalent of aquagenic urticaria was then considered; as for patients with this disease, each infant's family contained members suffering from dermographism, maladies or eruption after exposure to water or sun. All six infants had dermographism. We found an increase in blood histamine levels after a trial bath in the two infants tested. The evolution of these "aquagenic maladies" was favourable after a few weeks without baths. After a 2-7 year follow-up, three out of seven infants continue to suffer from troubles associated with sun or water. CONCLUSION: "Aquagenic maladies" could be a pediatric form of the aquagenic urticaria.     

Proceedings of the American Psychological Association for the legislative year 2008: Minutes of the annual meeting of the Council of Representatives, February 22–24, 2008, Washington, DC, and August 13 and 17, 2008, Boston, MA, and minutes of the February, June, August, and December 2008 meetings of the Board of Directors.

These minutes are the official record of the actions of the Association taken during the year by both the Board of Directors (the Board) and the Council of Representatives (Council). The roll of representatives was called at each Council meeting, and more than a quorum answered to their names. Reference is made in these minutes to various reports, some of which will be published elsewhere. Copies of these reports were distributed to Council and are on file in the Central Office. As long as the supply lasts, extra copies of many of the reports are available from the Central Office. These minutes are arranged in topical rather than chronological order, and subheadings are used when appropriate. The main topical headings are I. Minutes of Meetings; II. Elections, Awards, Membership, and Human Resources; III. Ethics; IV. Board of Directors; V. Divisions and State, Provincial, and Territorial Psychological Associations; VI. Organization of the APA; VII. Publications and Communications; VIII. Convention Affairs; IX. Educational Affairs; X. Professional Affairs; XI. Scientific Affairs; XII. Public Interest; XIII. Ethnic Minority Affairs; XIV. International Affairs; XV. Central Office; and XVI. Financial Affairs. Changes to the language of the American Psychological Association (APA) Bylaws, Association Rules, or motions of the items are noted as follows throughout these proceedings: Bracketed material is to be deleted; underlined material is to be added. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is there a mechanism of perceptual defense? A reply to Postman, Bronson, and Gropper.

"The present article is a rebuttal of the point of view expressed in this journal by Postman, Bronson, and Gropper, [see 28: 2283] who criticized the concept of perceptual defense and argued that it is not supported by the experimental evidence. Issue was taken with these authors concerning their understanding of the concept of defense, their espousal of the notion of word frequency as an explanation of perceptual recognition, and the limited variety of studies which they criticize and cite as relevant to the defense concept." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-concordance, goal attainment, and the pursuit of happiness: Can there be an upward spiral?

Two studies used the self-concordance model of healthy goal striving (K. M. Sheldon & A. J. Elliot, 1999) to examine the motivational processes by which people can increase their level of well-being during a period of time and then maintain the gain or perhaps increase it even further during the next period of time. In Study 1, entering freshmen with self-concordant motivation better attained their 1st-semester goals, which in turn predicted increased adjustment and greater self-concordance for the next semester's goals. Increased self-concordance in turn predicted even better goal attainment during the 2nd semester, which led to further increases in adjustment and to higher levels of ego development by the end of the year. Study 2 replicated the basic model in a 2-week study of short-term goals set in the laboratory. Limits of the model and implications for the question of how (and whether) happiness may be increased are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marital behavior, parenting behavior, and multiple reports of preschoolers' behavior problems: Mediation or moderation?

Associations among positive and conflictual marital behavior and multiple reports of child behavior problems were examined in a community sample of 78 families with 3-year-old children. Maternal and paternal parenting behaviors were tested as potential mediators and moderators. Parents reported on child behavior problems and were observed during parent-child interaction and couple discussion in the presence of the child. Observers and preschool teachers also reported on child behavior problems. Less positive marital engagement and greater conflict were associated with observers' reports, but not with parents' or teachers' reports, of more behavior problems. Associations between marital behavior and child behavior problems were not explained by maternal or paternal behavior; stronger support was found for moderating effects of parenting. Also, positive marital engagement was a slightly better predictor of child behavior problems than was marital conflict. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why talk about mental states? The significance of children's conversations with friends, siblings, and mothers

Natural language data from 38 47-month-olds recorded at home in unstructured observations were analyzed and comparisons made of characteristics of mental state term use in child-friend, child-sibling, and child-mother dyads. Significantly more references to mental states were made by the children in conversations with siblings and friends than with mothers. Frequent use of mental state terms by both partners was related to cooperative interaction in both child-friend and child-sibling dyads and several associations were found with measures of language fluency, gender, and maternal education, although these varied across the 2 dyads. Children's use of mental state terms in conversations with siblings and friends was correlated with their performance on two false belief measures. Results highlight the importance of extending investigations into the social implications of the development of children's "theories of mind."     

Proceedings of the American Psychological Association for the legislative year 2010: Minutes of the annual meeting of the Council of Representatives, February 19–21, 2010, Washington, DC, and August 11 and 15, 2010, San Diego, California, and minutes of the February, June, August, September, and December 2010 meetings of the Board of Directors.

These minutes are the official record of the actions of the Association taken during the year by both the Board of Directors (the Board) and the Council of Representatives (Council). The roll of representatives was called at each Council meeting, and more than a quorum answered to their names. Reference is made in these minutes to various reports, some of which will be published elsewhere. Copies of these reports were distributed to Council and are on file in the Central Office. As long as the supply lasts, extra copies of many of the reports are available from the Central Office. These minutes are arranged in topical rather than chronological order, and subheadings are used when appropriate. The main topical headings are I. Minutes of Meetings; II. Elections, Awards, Membership, and Human Resources; III. Ethics; IV. Board of Directors; V. Divisions and State, Provincial, and Territorial Associations; VI. Organization of the APA; VII. Publications and Communications; VIII. Convention Affairs; IX. Educational Affairs; X. Professional Affairs; XI. Scientific Affairs; XII. Public Interest; XIII. Ethnic Minority Affairs; XIV. International Affairs; XV. Central Office; and XVI. Financial Affairs. Changes to the language of the American Psychological Association (APA) Bylaws, Association Rules, or motions of the items are noted as follows throughout these proceedings: Bracketed material is to be deleted; underlined material is to be added. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Proceedings of the American Psychological Association, Incorporated, for the Legislative Year 1998: Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Council of Representatives February 20–22, 1998, Washington, DC, and August 13 and 16, 1998, San Francisco, CA, and Minutes of the February, June, August, and December 1998. Meetings of the Board of Directors.

These minutes are the official record of the actions of the American Psychological Association taken during the year by both the Board of Directors and the Council of Representatives. Reference is made in there minutes to various reports, some of which will be published elsewhere. Copies of the reports are distributed to Council and are on file in the Central Office. The minutes are arranged in topical, rather than chronological, order, and subheading are used when appropriate. The main topical headings are I. Minutes of Meetings; II. Elections, Awards, Membership, and Human Resources; III. Ethics; IV. Board of Directors; V. Divisions and State and Provincial Associations; VI. Organization of the APA; VII. Publications and Communications; VIII. Convention Affairs; IX. Educational Affairs; X. Professional Affairs; XI. Scientific Affairs; XII. Public Interest; XIII. Ethnic Minority Affairs; XIV. International Affairs; XV. Central Office; XVI. Financial Affairs; and XVII. Communications Concerning Outside Organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Carnosine, a protective, anti-ageing peptide?

Spindle cell squamous esophageal carcinomas are distinctive polypoid "biphasic" tumors in which the sarcoma-like phenotype usually predominates over the epithelial component. To biologically assess both phenotypes, we compared the tumoral proliferative activity and DNA ploidy between the two histological components of 13 polypoid spindle cell squamous carcinomas of the esophagus. We studied the tumoral proliferative index (TPI) using MIB 1 monoclonal antibody (Ki-67) and determined the DNA histogram by image cytometry on Feulgen-stained sections. The DNA histograms were classified into four types (I to IV) according to the degree of dispersion of the DNA. The TPI of the carcinomatous regions ranged from 0.20 to 0.63 (mean, 0.44) and from 0.55 to 0.85 for the sarcoma-like areas (mean, 0.68) P < .0001. In all cases, the sarcoma-like areas were aneuploid, and 37.5% of the carcinomatous regions were diploid. Also, in all instances the carcinomatous areas were of either histogram type I or II, and the sarcoma-like areas showed histograms of type II or III. We conclude that in esophageal spindle cell squamous carcinomas the sarcoma-like phenotype differs biologically in two ways from the carcinomatous: (1) it has a higher TPI and (2) it has higher aneuploidy with a greater dispersion of the DNA content. We postulate that these characteristics could give a "growth" advantage to the sarcoma-like component of these tumors and explain its predominance over the carcinomatous component.