Developing a Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education.

The Joint Committee on Testing Practices (JCTP) is a coordinating body that attempts to bring together test publishers and professional organizations concerned with testing in an effort to advance, in the public interest, the quality of testing practices. The JCTP was formed in 1984 by the American Psychological Association, the American Educational Research Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education. Last fall, the JCTP completed a three-year effort to develop a Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education. In this article, we briefly discuss the evolution of the JCTP, the development and dissemination of the Code, and the American Psychological Association's involvement in improving testing practices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neutral lipid transfer protein does not regulate α-tocopherol transfer between human plasma lipoproteins

Vitamin E has no known plasma carrier protein and is transported by plasma lipoproteins. The site of association of vitamin E in the lipoprotein particle and the mode of transfer of vitamin E between plasma lipoproteins have not been ascertained. Since neutral lipids (triglycerides and cholesterol esters) exchange between plasma lipoproteins by processes mediated by neutral lipid transfer protein, we questioned that if vitamin E, a hydrophobic molecule, is carried in the core of the lipoprotein particle then its transfer between plasma lipoproteins may be mediated by neutral lipid transfer protein. Transfer of D-α(5-methyl-³H)tocopherol from in vitro-labeled human plasma lipoprotein fractions to other plasma lipoproteins was measured under incubation conditions that were designed to yield markedly differing degrees of neutral lipid exchange. Despite the presence of the d>1.21 g/ml lipoprotein-poor plasma fraction or purified lipid transfer protein that resulted in up to a 10-fold increase in neutral lipid transfer, vitamin E transfer between very low density lipoproteins, low density and high density lipoproteins remained constant. Even excess amounts of lipid transfer protein, which caused triglyceride transfer between very low density and high density lipoproteins to reach saturation, failed to affect significantly vitamin E transfer. Vitamin E distribution between lipoprotein fractions did correlate with lipoprotein mass ratios. Vitamin E transfer was higher as the protein ratio of acceptor lipoproteins to donor lipoproteins increased. We conclude that vitamin E transfer between lipoproteins is not dependent primarily on neutral lipid transfer protein and is not mediated via neutral lipid transfer.     

The Involvement of the Psychologist's Family in the Establishment of a Public Image of the Profession.

Psychologists of late have been turning increasing attention to the problem of defining their profession (Amer. Psychologist, 1958, 13, 645-652; 1959, 14, 523-524) and outlining a public image (see record 2005-08103-001). The present writer applauds these efforts from the midst of the semantic battlefield upon which the psychologist's family finds itself when communicating with the public. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

N- Vs. C- Tricyanovinylation of Ring-Substituted Dimethylanilines. The Spectral Properties of the Products.

Methods for changing the selectivity in the N- vs. C- tricyanovinylation are discussed. In acetonitrile, 2,3-, 2,4-, 3,4- and 3, 5-dimethylanilines are N-tricyanovinylated, 2,6-dimethyl- and 2, 6-diethylanilines are p-tricyanovinylated, and 2,5-dimethyl- and 2-ethylaniline give mixtures of N- and p-tricyanovinyl derivatives. The UV, IR, NMR and mass spectra of the products are discussed in relation to the position of the tricyanovinyl group and to electronic and steric effects.     

Quartz Resonators for Monitoring Thin-Film Mass and Thickness

A detailed analysis is presented for a quartz resonator-film system that substantially improves the accuracy in determining the mass and thickness. A proposed method of measuring the mass and other physical properties of the films is tested by experiment, which does not require preliminary calibration.__________Translated from Izmeritelnaya Tekhnika, No. 2, pp. 29–32, February, 2005.