Glossopharyngeal nerve transection impairs unconditioned avoidance of diverse bitter stimuli in rats.

There is growing evidence of heterogeneity among responses to bitter stimuli at the peripheral, central and behavioral levels. For instance, the glossopharyngeal (GL) nerve and neurons receiving its projections are more responsive to bitter stimuli than the chorda tympani (CT) nerve, and this is particularly true for some bitter stimuli like PROP & cycloheximide that stimulate the GL to a far greater extent. Given this information, we hypothesized that cutting the GL would have a greater effect on behavioral avoidance of cycloheximide and PROP than quinine and denatonium, which also stimulate the CT, albeit to a lesser degree than salts and acids. Forty male SD rats were divided into four surgery groups: bilateral GL transection (GLX), chorda tympani transection (CTX), SHAM surgery, and combined transection (CTX + GLX). Postsurgical avoidance functions were generated for the four bitter stimuli using a brief-access test. GLX significantly compromised avoidance compared to both CTX and SHAM groups for all stimuli (p     

Bidirectional links and concurrent development of parent-child relationships and boys' offending behavior.

This study examined different types of longitudinal associations (i.e., directional links and overlapping developmental changes) between children's delinquency and the quality of parent–child relationships from middle childhood to late adolescence. We used 10-wave interview data of 503 boys, their primary caregivers, and their teachers. Our first aim was to unravel the direction of effects between parent–child relationships and children's offending. Cross-lagged panel models revealed bidirectional links over time between poorer quality parent–child relationships and boys' offending across late childhood (age 7–10), early adolescence (age 10–13) and middle adolescence (age 13–16). Second, we examined the associations between mean changes in delinquency, on the one hand, and mean changes in relationship quality, on the other hand. Although parent–child relationships improved during childhood, their quality decreased in early adolescence and remained stable in middle adolescence. Delinquency increased only in middle adolescence. In five out of six models, the slope factors of relationship quality and offending were strongly correlated, indicating that stronger increases in delinquency were associated with stronger decreases in parent–child relationship quality across childhood, early adolescence, and middle adolescence. The discussion focuses on the theoretical implications of these two types of longitudinal associations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

To use or not to use: Clinicians' perceptions of telemental health.

Equal access to mental health services is necessary for healthy individuals and communities. However, due to geographical distances and other barriers, some clients cannot easily access mental health professionals. Technologies such as videoconferencing for clinical purposes (i.e., telemental health) may help to bridge these gaps to connect clients and clinicians at geographically diverse locations. However, despite its potential utility, telemental health has not been widely adopted in Canada. This study is an exploratory investigation into mental health professionals' attitudes toward telemental health, factors that affect the frequency with which they use this technology, and their perceptions of individual characteristics that make clients more or less suitable candidates for telemental health. This study has a particular focus on remote and rural and Operational Stress Injury (OSI) contexts. One hundred sixty mental health workers across Canada participated in an online survey, and 25 mental health workers from Operational Stress Injury clinics across Canada participated in in-person interviews. The data were examined using qualitative and quantitative analysis methods. Findings suggest that mental health workers have overall positive attitudes toward the use of telemental health—particularly for clients in remote and rural locations. Additionally, receiving training in telemental health, being in the mental health field for longer, and perceiving the technology as easy to use are associated with more frequent use of telemental health. Finally, clinicians reported specific client characteristics that they perceive to make some clients unsuitable candidates for telemental health. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The history of broad and general education in scientific psychology: The foundation for professional psychology education and training.

The article provides the historical roots and rationale for providing professional psychologists with knowledge of the underpinnings in core scientific areas of psychology with two goals–knowledge of those scientific areas themselves and as the basis for further understanding the integration of science and practice to improve professional service delivery. This article discusses the early roots of the applied areas within psychology and the changes in curricular expectations in accreditation to the current provisions for the accreditation of doctoral programs in professional psychology. After the historical introduction, the article discusses the current use of the concept of broad and general training as the basis for current practice in accreditation of programs in professional psychology and for the practice as a licensed psychologist. Finally, the article provides some initial discussion of the different perspectives in the rest of the section regarding how best to provide students with appropriate knowledge for competence in scientific underpinnings of professional psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Grid current regulation of a three-phase voltage source inverter with an LCL input filter

Many grid connected power electronic systems, such as STATCOMs, UPFCs, and distributed generation system interfaces, use a voltage source inverter (VSI) connected to the supply network through a filter. This filter, typically a series inductance, acts to reduce the switching harmonics entering the distribution network. An alternative filter is a LCL network, which can achieve reduced levels of harmonic distortion at lower switching frequencies and with less inductance, and therefore has potential benefits for higher power applications. However, systems incorporating LCL filters require more complex control strategies and are not commonly presented in literature. This paper proposes a robust strategy for regulating the grid current entering a distribution network from a three-phase VSI system connected via a LCL filter. The strategy integrates an outer loop grid current regulator with inner capacitor current regulation to stabilize the system. A synchronous frame PI current regulation strategy is used for the outer grid current control loop. Linear analysis, simulation, and experimental results are used to verify the stability of the control algorithm across a range of operating conditions. Finally, expressions for ""harmonic impedance" of the system are derived to study the effects of supply voltage distortion on the harmonic performance of the system.     

Solution Processable Monosubstituted Hexa‐Peri‐Hexabenzocoronene Self‐Assembling Dyes

Molecular organization behavior and visible light absorption ability are important factors for organic materials to be used in efficient bulk heterojunction solar cells applications. In this context, a series of monosubstituted fluorenyl hexa‐peri‐hexabenzocoronene (FHBC) are synthesized with the aim to combine the self‐association property of the FHBC unit with broadened light absorption of a small molecule organic dye, bisthienylbenzothiadiazole (TBT). Optical and electrochemical properties of the FHBC compounds vary according to their structures. Introduction of a TBT unit into the FHBC system broadens the absorption. All of the FHBC compounds show strong π–π intermolecular association in solution. X‐ray scattering measurements on thermally extruded filaments and thin films showed ordered alignment of these compounds in the solid state. In atomic force microscopy experiments, nanoscale phase separation is observed in thin films of FHBC and fullerene derivative blends. Solar cell devices with these compounds as donors are fabricated. FHBC compounds with the TBT unit show higher short circuit current while the high open circuit voltages are maintained. With C₆₀ derivative as acceptor, power conversion efficiency of 1.12% is achieved in the unoptimized solar cell devices under simulated solar irradiation. The efficiency was further improved to 1.64% when C₇₀ derivative was used as the acceptor.     

InRout - A QoS aware route selection algorithm for industrial wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks are a key enabling technology for industrial monitoring applications where the use of wireless infrastructure allows high adaptivity and low cost in terms of installation and retrofitting. To facilitate the move from the current wired designs to wireless designs, concerns regarding reliability must be satisfied. Current standardization efforts for industrial wireless systems lack specification on efficient routing protocols that mitigate reliability concerns. Consequently, this work presents the InRout route selection algorithm, where local information is shared among neighbouring nodes to enable efficient, distributed route selection while satisfying industrial application requirements and considering sensor node resource limitations. Route selection is described as a multi-armed bandit task and uses Q-learning techniques to obtain the best available solution with low overhead. A performance comparison with existing approaches demonstrates the benefits of the InRout algorithm, which satisfies typical quality of service requirements for industrial monitoring applications while considering sensor node resources. Simulation results show that InRout can provide gains ranging from 4% to 60% in the number of successfully delivered packets when compared to current approaches with much lower control overhead.