Egotism versus generalization-of-uncontrollability explanations of helplessness: Reply to Snyder and Frankel (1989).

M. L. Snyder and A. Frankel (see record 1990-09504-001) argue that our experiments (M. Kofta and G. S?dek; see record 1989-24900-001) were inadequate for testing the egotism theory of helplessness because they did not directly address the role of threat to self-esteem, the process held responsible for helplessness deficits by this theory. We reply that failure experience—the chief manipulation in these experiments—is critical for arousing threat to self-esteem. Therefore, our findings—that (a) noncontingency, not ego-threatening failure, is specifically responsible for helplessness deficits, and (b) availability of excuse for failure in the test phase augments performance deficits instead of mitigating them—call into question the validity of the egotism explanation of helplessness. We conclude that by and large, our study lends support to the original learned helplessness theory of Seligman and his associates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The investigation of aggregate grain size effect on fracture toughness of ordinary concrete structures

The material under investigation was ordinary conerete of B 20 class, different in the sizes of coarse aggregate and water-cement ratio of the same value w/c=0.55. It was found during the tests that there were two kinds of sample cracking mechanisms. Some samples cracked at the moment of the initiation of slit (when P _Q=P _max); in others the decohesion force P _max exceeded P _Q, which was identified as a minor deflection or relative extremum of the curve. The frequency of the second type of cracking increased with the growing size of coarse aggregate grains. Together with the growth of the grain size, the angle of curve inclination also became smaller. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that, in the process of decohesion, the aggregate grains are relocated and the system of contact between them changes, so the K _Hc depends on coarse aggregate.     

Repeated failure: A source of helplessness or a factor irrelevant to its emergence?

Tested the validity of the egotism model of human helplessness (HE). In contrast to the original theoretical approach of M. E. P. Seligman (1975) and his associates, which points to response–outcome noncontingency as the main source of HE, the egotism alternative proposes that repeated failure itself is the critical determinant of HE symptoms. Repeated failure threatens the self-esteem of the S, who supposedly engages in a least-effort strategy during the test phase of a typical learned HE study, which results in performance impairment. To examine the egotism explanation, we gave Ss noncontingent-feedback training with or without repeated failure on 5 consecutive discrimination problems. In 2 experiments, noncontingent-feedback preexposure produced HE deficits in performance on avoidance learning, whereas repeated failure appeared irrelevant to HE. This and our other findings from research are inconsistent with the egotism explanation and support instead Seligman's original proposal, in which HE is attributed to prolonged experience with noncontingency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Equivalency of Lightning Return-Stroke Models Employing Lumped and Distributed Current Sources

We show that any engineering return-stroke model can be expressed, using an appropriate continuity equation, in terms of either lumped or distributed current sources with the resultant longitudinal-current distribution along the channel being the same. This property can be viewed as the duality of engineering models. The conversion alters the actual-corona current (if any) of the model. For lumped-source (LS) models the actual-corona current is unipolar and directed radially out of the channel core, while for distributed-source (DS) models it is unipolar and directed into the channel core. For LS models converted to DS models and for the Diendorfer-Uman (DU) model converted to the equivalent LS model, the corona current is the sum of the negated actual-corona current (if any) and a fictitious-corona current, the latter being bipolar. For the transmission-line (TL) model (no longitudinal current attenuation with height) expressed in terms of DSs, there is only a fictitious bipolar corona current component. Conversion of the traveling-current source (TCS) and Bruce-Golde (BG) models to equivalent LS models involves replacement of the actual, unipolar corona current with a fictitious one, the latter current being bipolar near the channel base and unipolar at higher altitudes     

A Tool for Prioritizing DAGMan Jobs and its Evaluation

It is often difficult to perform efficiently a collection of jobs with complex job dependencies due to temporal unpredictability of the Grid. One way to mitigate the unpredictability is to schedule job execution in a manner that constantly maximizes the number of jobs that can be sent to workers. A recently developed scheduling theory provides a basis to meet that optimization goal. Intuitively, when the number of such jobs is always large, high parallelism can be maintained, even if the number of workers changes over time in an unpredictable manner. In this paper we present the design, implementation, and evaluation of a practical scheduling tool inspired by the theory. Given a DAGMan input file with interdependent jobs, the tool prioritizes the jobs. The resulting schedule significantly outperforms currently used schedules under a wide range of system parameters, as shown by simulation studies. For example, a scientific data analysis application, AIRSN, was executed at least 13% faster with 95% confidence. An implementation of the tool was integrated with the Condor high-throughput computing system. The research of G. Malewicz was supported in part by NSF Grant ITR-800864. The research of I. Foster and M. Wilde was supported in part by the NSF GriPhyN project and by the Mathematical, Information, and Computational Sciences Division subprogram of the Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research, U.S. Department of Energy, under Contract W-31-109-Eng-38. The research of A.L. Rosenberg was supported in part by NSF Grant CCF-0342417.     

Antidepressants Differentially Regulate Intracellular Signaling from α1-Adrenergic Receptor Subtypes In Vitro

Currently utilized antidepressants have limited effectiveness and frequently incur undesired effects. Most antidepressants are thought to act via the inhibition of monoamine reuptake; however, direct binding to monoaminergic receptors has been proposed to contribute to both their clinical effectiveness and their side effects, or lack thereof. Among the target receptors of antidepressants, α1‑adrenergic receptors (ARs) have been implicated in depression etiology, antidepressant action, and side effects. However, differences in the direct effects of antidepressants on signaling from the three subtypes of α1-ARs, namely, α1A-, α1B- and α1D‑ARs, have been little explored. We utilized cell lines overexpressing α1A-, α1B- or α1D-ARs to investigate the effects of the antidepressants imipramine (IMI), desipramine (DMI), mianserin (MIA), reboxetine (REB), citalopram (CIT) and fluoxetine (FLU) on noradrenaline-induced second messenger generation by those receptors. We found similar orders of inhibition at α1A-AR (IMI < DMI < CIT < MIA < REB) and α1D‑AR (IMI = DMI < CIT < MIA), while the α1B-AR subtype was the least engaged subtype and was inhibited with low potency by three drugs (MIA < IMI = DMI). In contrast to their direct antagonistic effects, prolonged incubation with IMI and DMI increased the maximal response of the α1B-AR subtype, and the CIT of both the α1A- and the α1B-ARs. Our data demonstrate a complex, subtype-specific modulation of α1-ARs by antidepressants of different groups.     

In Vitro Efficacy of Bacterial Cellulose Dressings Chemisorbed with Antiseptics against Biofilm Formed by Pathogens Isolated from Chronic Wounds

Local administration of antiseptics is required to prevent and fight against biofilm-based infections of chronic wounds. One of the methods used for delivering antiseptics to infected wounds is the application of dressings chemisorbed with antimicrobials. Dressings made of bacterial cellulose (BC) display several features, making them suitable for such a purpose. This work aimed to compare the activity of commonly used antiseptic molecules: octenidine, polyhexanide, povidone-iodine, chlorhexidine, ethacridine lactate, and hypochlorous solutions and to evaluate their usefulness as active substances of BC dressings against 48 bacterial strains (8 species) and 6 yeast strains (1 species). A silver dressing was applied as a control material of proven antimicrobial activity. The methodology applied included the assessment of minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimal biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC), the modified disc-diffusion method, and the modified antibiofilm dressing activity measurement (A.D.A.M.) method. While in 96-well plate-based methods (MIC and MBEC assessment), the highest antimicrobial activity was recorded for chlorhexidine, in the modified disc-diffusion method and in the modified A.D.A.M test, povidone-iodine performed the best. In an in vitro setting simulating chronic wound conditions, BC dressings chemisorbed with polyhexanide, octenidine, or povidone-iodine displayed a similar or even higher antibiofilm activity than the control dressing containing silver molecules. If translated into clinical conditions, the obtained results suggest high applicability of BC dressings chemisorbed with antiseptics to eradicate biofilm from chronic wounds.     

Influence of Complexation of Thiosemicarbazone Derivatives with Cu (II) Ions on Their Antitumor Activity against Melanoma Cells

A series of thiosemicarbazone derivatives was prepared and their anti-tumor activity in vitro was tested. The X-ray investigation performed for compounds T2, T3 and T5 confirmed the synthesis pathway and assumed molecular structures of analyzed thiosemicarbazones. The conformational preferences of the thiosemicarbazone system were characterized using theoretical calculations by AM1 method. Selected compounds were converted into complexes of Cu (II) ions. The effect of complexing on anti-tumor activity has been investigated. The copper(II) complexes, with Schiff bases T1, T10, T12, T13, and T16 have been synthesized and characterized by chemical and elemental analysis, FTIR spectroscopy and TGA method. Thermal properties of coordination compounds were studied using TG-DTG techniques under dry air atmosphere. G361, A375, and SK-MEL-28 human melanoma cells and BJ human normal fibroblast cells were treated with tested compounds and their cytotoxicity was evaluated with MTT test. The compounds with the most promising anti-tumour activity were then selected and their cytotoxicity was verified with cell cycle analysis and apoptosis/necrosis detection. Additionally, DNA damages in the form of a basic sites presence and the expression of oxidative stress and DNA damage response genes were evaluated. The obtained results indicate that complexation of thiosemicarbazone derivatives with Cu (II) ions improves their antitumor activity against melanoma cells. The observed cytotoxic effect is associated with DNA damage and G2/M phase of cell cycle arrest as well as disorders of the antioxidant enzymes expression.     

Carbon Monoxide and Nitric Oxide as Examples of the Youngest Class of Transmitters

The year 2021 is the 100th anniversary of the confirmation of the neurotransmission phenomenon by Otto Loewi. Over the course of the hundred years, about 100 neurotransmitters belonging to many chemical groups have been discovered. In order to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the confirmation of neurotransmitters, we present an overview of the first two endogenous gaseous transmitters i.e., nitric oxide, and carbon monoxide, which are often termed as gasotransmitters.