Effect of commercial rye whole-meal bread on postprandial blood glucose and gastric emptying in healthy subjects

Background  

The intake of dietary fibre has been shown to reduce the risk of developing diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of commercial rye whole-meal bread containing whole kernels and white wheat bread on the rate of gastric emptying and postprandial glucose response in healthy subjects.     

High-throughput screening of synthesis parameters in the formation of the metal-organic frameworks MOF-5 and HKUST-1

High-throughput methods were employed to study the influence of reaction parameters on the synthesis of the metal-organic frameworks MOF-5 (Zn₄O[(OOC)₂ · C₆H₄]₃) and HKUST-1 (Cu₃[(OOC)₃C₆H₃]₂(H₂O)₃ · xH₂O). Thus, compositional parameters (metal salt, reagent concentrations, and pH) as well as process parameters (temperature, time) were investigated in order to establish reaction trends and fields of formation. A multiclave reaction block was used to perform the investigation of 24 different solvothermal reactions at a time. Attention was focused on the phase purity and the crystal morphology of the resulting compounds. The characterization of the samples was performed by X-ray powder diffraction and high resolution scanning electron microscopy. The experimental results show that the formation, phase purity, and morphology of MOF-5 and HKUST-1 are extremely sensitive to the synthesis parameters explored in this study.     

Angiotensin's contribution to dipsogenic additivity in several rodent species.

Significant positive correlations were obtained between plasma angiotensin levels and drinking following the administration of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in rats, gerbils, and hamsters and following isoproterenol (ISOP) in rats and gerbils, but not in a South American rodent, Octodon degus (degus). Hamsters revealed elevations in plasma angiotensin following ISOP but no drinking, whereas degus failed to show changes in plasma angiotensin to either treatment, although drinking occurred following PEG. A second experiment indicated that gerbils and degus possess circumventricular organ (CVO) angiotensin III receptors. In a final experiment, rats and gerbils revealed dipsogenic additivity when challenged with either PEG or ISOP paired with 2.5 M NaCl. Degus and hamsters indicated additivity only with PEG and 2.5 M NaCl combined. Despite the presence of CVO angiotensin receptors in degus and hamsters, it is concluded that the important component of the hypovolemic dipsogenic stimulus in members of these species may be activation of volume receptors rather than brain angiotensin receptors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Practitioners' perceptions of the vocational rewards in work with underserved groups: Implications for "rightsizing" the psychology workforce.

Although workforce trends indicate an oversupply of psychologists, demographic and epidemiological trends indicate an undersupply of psychologists working with underserved populations. This study surveyed members of the American Psychological Association regarding their perceptions of the rewards and barriers in work with underserved populations and how these perceptions affect interest, satisfaction, and engagement with these groups. Results confirm that practitioners were significantly more interested, engaged, and satisfied in their work with populations that are not underserved and perceived this work to be more rewarding and to involve fewer barriers. Practitioners who endorsed more rewards in work with underserved groups tend to be engaged in practice with these groups to a greater degree. The impact of these findings on recruitment, training, and retaining psychologists to work with underserved groups is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Brother-Sister Questionnaire: Psychometric assessment and discrimination of well-functioning from dysfunctional relationships.

The purpose of this investigation was to document the utility of the 35-item Brother–Sister Questionnaire (BSQ), which could be used to discriminate dysfunctional from well-functioning sibling relationships. Two studies are reported. In the 1st study, 202 college students were selected by self-report on prescreening questions to represent 4 groups: (1) high sibling-conflict victims, (2) high sibling-conflict perpetrators, (3) those with reciprocal conflict, and (4) those with low levels of conflict (a comparison group). Group classification was validated by scores on the Conflict Tactics Scales. Ss' responses to the BSQ about sibling relationships were subjected to factor analysis with varimax rotation, confirming 4 reliable factors: Empathy, Boundary Maintenance, Similarity, and Coercion. In the 2nd study, 50 students who self-reported that they were abused by a sibling and 50 comparison Ss completed the BSQ. With the 4 factors as predictors, discriminant analyses correctly classified 82% of the abused group and 81% of the comparison group. Given these results, the BSQ is proposed as a self-report measure capable of characterizing 4 distinct qualities in sibling relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

From the Students' Point of View: Experiences in a Freshman Engineering Design Course

We evaluated the pilot semester of a freshman introduction to engineering course in order to provide an understanding of the students' experience in the course and identify aspects of this experience that could lead to improved student retention in engineering. The course concentrates on having students work in teams to identify customer needs, find solutions, and design and build a final product. We used qualitative research methods for data collection and analysis that included interviewing students using a set of open-ended questions, thus allowing them to introduce issues and describe their experiences. Our analysis indicated that students experienced engineering in a supportive, team-oriented environment that provided a context for making informed career decisions. The students' experiences indicate that courses such as this one can help students face the challenges they encounter in beginning their engineering education.     

Incremental efficacy of WISC–III factor scores in predicting achievement: What do they tell us?

Four factors underlie the Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) on the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children—Third Edition (WISC–III; D. Wechsler, 1991). Scores from these factors possess greater reliability than individual subtest scores, and some argue that factor scores relate to important phenomena of educational and clinical interest, such as academic achievement and classification status. However, the predictive efficacy of factor scores from the WISC–III relative to the Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) has not been clearly established. This study examined the incremental validity of factor scores from the WISC–III in predicting achievement on the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT; Psychological Corporation, 1992). Two groups were evaluated: a nationally representative nonreferred sample (n?=?283), and a sample of children referred for evaluation (n?=?636). Results indicate that while the factors provide a statistically significant increment, the size of this improvement is generally too small to be of clinical significance for either group. In terms of parsimony and efficiency, the FSIQ is the best predictor of different achievement criteria as measured by the WIAT. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Object permanence in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

We evaluated the performance of 6 adult rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) on object permanence tasks. In Experiment 1, monkeys received search tasks that correspond to Stages 4, 5, and 6 of object permanence. Subjects were successful on tasks of visible displacements (Stages 4 and 5) but failed to find the object in invisible displacements (Stage 6). The monkeys adopted a search strategy of investigating a specific hiding location. In Experiment 2, monkeys were given a second opportunity to find the object if they investigated a location that was part of the displacement on their first search. Subjects relied on the same search strategy identified in Experiment 1. In Experiment 3, the experimenter hid the object in her hand rather than a container. The monkeys failed to recover the object, and individual differences were found in the strategies used. These results suggest that the upper limit of object permanence in rhesus monkeys is Stage 5. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)