A theory of humor elicitation.

Presents a general theory of humor elicitation that specifies the conditions in which humor is experienced in both social and nonsocial situations. The theory takes into account the interpretation of a stimulus event that is necessary to elicit humor, the difficulty of identifying the humor-eliciting features of this interpretation, and the cognitive elaboration of implications of the event. The influence of these factors is postulated to depend on Ss' information-processing objectives at the time a stimulus event occurs. The theory is used to conceptualize the humor elicited by jokes, witticisms, and social events that are neither intended nor expected to be humorous. Particular attention is given to the cognitive underpinnings of responses to ethnic humor and to the humor that is elicited by one's own behavior in social situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Foundations of psychological assessment: Implications for cognitive assessment in clinical science.

We examine psychological assessment within the broader framework of psychology's efforts to build and test useful scientific theories. In the first section, we consider in detail a number of fundamental epistemological, conceptual, and methodological issues that tend either to inhibit or to foster theoretical progress in psychology. In light of these issues, we then recommend that psychology adopt an information-based, quantitative approach to theory building and testing. This approach should help us model the dynamic, stochastic processes underlying human behavior. In the second section, we explore the implications of the issues and strategies that we outlined in the first section for the future of clinical assessment, with a particular focus on the clinical assessment of cognitive processes. We conclude by advocating a conceptual and methodological integration of clinical and cognitive neuroscience in psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Glucose transporter (GLUT-4) is targeted to secretory granules in rat atrial cardiomyocytes

The insulin-responsive glucose transporter GLUT-4 is found in muscle and fat cells in the trans-Golgi reticulum (TGR) and in an intracellular tubulovesicular compartment, from where it undergoes insulin-dependent movement to the cell surface. To examine the relationship between these GLUT-4-containing compartments and the regulated secretory pathway we have localized GLUT-4 in atrial cardiomyocytes. This cell type secretes an antihypertensive hormone, referred to as the atrial natriuretic factor (ANF), in response to elevated blood pressure. We show that GLUT-4 is targeted in the atrial cell to the TGR and a tubulo-vesicular compartment, which is morphologically and functionally indistinguishable from the intracellular GLUT-4 compartment found in other types of myocytes and in fat cells, and in addition to the ANF secretory granules. Forming ANF granules are present throughout all Golgi cisternae but only become GLUT4 positive in the TGR. The inability of cyclohexamide treatment to effect the TGR localization of GLUT-4 indicates that GLUT-4 enters the ANF secretory granules at the TGR via the recycling pathway and not via the biosynthetic pathway. These data suggest that a large proportion of GLUT-4 must recycle via the TGR in insulin-sensitive cells. It will be important to determine if this is the pathway by which the insulin-regulatable tubulo-vesicular compartment is formed.     

Further evidence for an imprinted gene for neonatal diabetes localised to chromosome 6q22-q23

Transient neonatal diabetes mellitus (TNDM) is a rare form of childhood diabetes which usually resolves in the first 6 months of life but which predisposes to type 2 diabetes of adult onset. We recently reported paternal uniparental isodisomy of chromosome 6 (UPD6) in two children with TNDM and proposed that there may be an imprinted gene important in the aetiology of diabetes on chromosome 6. We now describe two unrelated families which independently suggest that the gene is imprinted, is paternally expressed and maps to 6q22-q23. One family has a duplication while the other, with familial TNDM, shows linkage to a marker in this region.     

Criteria for good adjustment to chronic hemodialysis: Nurse-patient differences.

Examined nurse–patient agreement on behaviors and attitudes associated with patient adjustment to chronic hemodialysis treatment. 164 hemodialysis nurses and 79 chronic hemodialysis outpatients completed a patient adjustment to dialysis inventory consisting of 43 behaviors and attitudes reported by nurses in earlier research to be important for adjustment to chronic hemodialysis. Results show that over 60% of nurses and patients showed sufficient agreement on the importance of 33 of 43 behaviors and attitudes for patient adjustment in the areas of compliance with the medical regimen, involvement in treatment, patient–staff interactions, and psychological and social functioning. Nurses and patients disagreed as to whether 9 behaviors and attitudes were at least important, while agreeing that only 1 item was irrelevant. Results also show that significantly more patients than nurses rated 25 out of 43 behaviors and attitudes as crucial. Approximately 50% of these related to interacting with staff, family, and friends. It is suggested that social and psychological criteria for adjustment to hemodialysis treatment should be defined by nurses and patients together. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavior of Fe, Mn, Cu and Cd in the duwamish river estuary downstream of a sewage treatment plant

The behavior of dissolved Fe, Mn, Cu and Cd in the Duwamish River downstream of a sewage treatment plant located near Seattle, Washington, was investigated in three distinct zones: (1) immediately downstream of the effluent outfall, (2) further downstream in the freshwater portion of the river and (3) in the estuarine mixing zone. A three-end-member tracer model utilizing salinity and dissolved inorganic nitrogen was developed to distinguish physical mixing processes from biogeochemical reactions. The results of this investigation indicate that Fe was removed from the dissolved phase onto particulates near the plant. Although no additional reactions controlled the distribution of dissolved Fe, Mn and Cu in the freshwater portion of the river, Cd was removed from the dissolved phase. In the estuarine mixing zone, a significant fraction of the dissolved Fe and Cu was removed from solution, while Mn and Cd desorbed from particulates. The chemical forms of the trace metals rather than their sources appear to determine their participation in these reactions.     

Profiles of the Alcohol Use Inventory: A large sample cluster analysis conducted with split-sample replication rules.

The 15 primary (nonmarital) subscales of the Alcohol Use Inventory (AUI; J. L. Horn, K. H. Wanberg, & F. M. Foster, 1990) were cluster analyzed in a sample of 1,460 individuals with alcoholism. The dataset was split randomly into 4 subsamples, and each was subjected to a hierarchical cluster analysis. A higher order cluster analysis then was performed, and replication of different cluster solutions across subsamples was assessed. Twelve reliable cluster profiles were identified. Profiles differed on demographic, personality, cognitive, and treatment compliance variables. Profile membership was predictive of posttreatment drinking intensity, and 2 cluster profiles interacted with treatment type differentially to affect outcome. The study is the largest and most comprehensive independent analysis of the AUI to date. The potential utility of these profiles for treatment planning is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Choice processing in emotionally difficult decisions": Correction.

Reports an error in the article "Choice Processing in Emotionally Difficult Decisions' by Mary Frances Luce, James R. Bettman, and John W. Payne (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 1997, Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 384–405; see record 1997-03378-007). In Table 7 on page 396, the high conflict/low trade-off difficulty mean for the PATTERN variable was printed as -0.13, but the actual mean is 0.13. A portion of the original abstract follows: Extends the standard effort-accuracy approach to explaining task influences on decision processing by arguing that coping goals will interact with effort-minimization goals for negatively emotion-laden decision tasks. These coping goals may involve both a desire to process in a thorough, accurate manner and a desire to avoid particularly distressing aspects of processing. The authors hypothesized and found in 3 experiments that decision processing under increasing negative emotion both becomes more extensive and proceeds more by focusing on one attribute at a time. In particular, increased negative emotion leads to more attribute-based processing at the beginning of the decision process. The results are inconsistent with views that negative emotion acts only as an incentive or only as a source of decision complexity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)