Coaxial Lines Containing Ceramic High-Tc Superconducting-Center Conductors

A superconducting line should be essentially lossless and dispersionless and have a purely resistive impedance up to at least 10 GHz. In fact we expect that a long (>1 km) line could carry nanosecond rise time pulses with zero distortion and low loss (<1 dB/km). We have measured the losses in some short sections of coaxial line containing ceramic high-T_c superconducting-center conductors over the frequency range from 5 to 50 MHz. There is only a slight improvement over a completely copper coaxial line.     

Psychologists in practice with older adults: Current patterns, sources of training, and need for continuing education.

Rapid population growth among older adults means an increased need for psychologists prepared to provide mental health services to this population. A representative survey of 1,227 practitioner members of the American Psychological Association yielded information about current patterns of practice with older adults, sources of training in geropsychology, perceived need for continuing education (CE) in geropsychology, and preferred CE formats. Most respondents provided some services to older adults, but typically very little. The services provided are inadequate to meet projected demand. Most respondents lacked formal training in geropsychology and perceived themselves as needing additional training. CE workshops at the regional level and distance education were the most popular formats. These data serve as a call to the field to expand training opportunities at all levels of training, with an emphasis on the need for empirically based, broadly accessible CE offerings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empirical expression of permeability in terms of porosity, specific surface area, and residual water saturation of carbonate rocks

Using the multi-variable linear regression analysis, the authors developed empirical expressions for permeability in terms of porosity, specific surface area, and irreducible fluid saturation for four carbonate reservoir rock areas in the USSR. The coefficient of correlation varied from 0.981 to 0.997.     

Effects of 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring on daily activities.

Compared the self-monitored activities, locations, and postural positions of 28 hypertensives while they wore an alarm watch and then while they wore a 24-hr ambulatory blood pressure monitor (ABPM) to see if wearing the ABPM led to alterations in behavior. Significant differences were found in frequency of being at home or in miscellaneous settings; in standing and reclining positions; and in mental, physical, and miscellaneous activities between the 2 occasions. For the most part, differences were in the direction of showing lower overall blood pressure while wearing the ABPM than would have been found at the same time while wearing the watch. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stomach acid secretion in submissive and aggressive rats.

Conducted 4 experiments with 60 female and 162 male Long-Evans rats to determine whether aggressive and submissive behavior are related to either an increase or a decrease in gastric secretion. In Exp I, intruder rats placed in an established male–female colony and attacked by a dominant alpha male secreted less acid than intruders exposed to nonaggressive males and females. In Exp II, intruders exposed to attack and subsequently returned to the encounter site, but protected from physical attack, still demonstrated a gastric hyposecretion. Ss with chronic gastric cannulas in Exp III also revealed an acid inhibition when attacked and later when exposed to, but protected from, attack. Both intruders and attacking males were prepared with gastric cannulas in Exp IV. Both demonstrated secretory inhibition following attack and attack-protected sessions. The inhibitory effect was greater and more persistent for intruders than for aggressive Ss. It is suggested that the inhibition occurring during the attack-protected sessions may have been mediated by some conditioning processes, and other possible associative mechanisms, including a learning model or a direct sensory model, are discussed. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting human behavior: Comparing idiographic, nomothetic, and agentic methodologies.

Several longstanding issues in psychological research (e.g., self-determination vs. nonagentic determination in human action and nomothetic vs. idiographic research approaches) are explored. Reasons are presented that suggest why agentic and idiographic approaches (in combination with the more typical nomothetic, nonagentic studies) may enhance the predictive accuracy of psychological experiments. A study on the daily exercise behavior of 42 subjects over a 60-day period is presented and analyzed from 3 perspectives: nonagentic–nomothetic, nonagentic–idiographic, and agentic–nomothetic. The results suggest that substantial dividends in predictive accuracy accrue when nontraditional research perspectives are entertained. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)