The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success?

Numerous studies show that happy individuals are successful across multiple life domains, including marriage, friendship, income, work performance, and health. The authors suggest a conceptual model to account for these findings, arguing that the happiness-success link exists not only because success makes people happy, but also because positive affect engenders success. Three classes of evidence--cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental--are documented to test their model. Relevant studies are described and their effect sizes combined meta-analytically. The results reveal that happiness is associated with and precedes numerous successful outcomes, as well as behaviors paralleling success. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that positive affect--the hallmark of well-being--may be the cause of many of the desirable characteristics, resources, and successes correlated with happiness. Limitations, empirical issues, and important future research questions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index.

One area of positive psychology analyzes subjective well-being (SWB), people's cognitive and affective evaluations of their lives. Progress has been made in understanding the components of SWB, the importance of adaptation and goals to feelings of well-being, the temperament underpinnings of SWB, and the cultural influences on well-being. Representative selection of respondents, naturalistic experience sampling measures, and other methodological refinements are now used to study SWB and could be used to produce national indicators of happiness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Limiting temperature and relative humidity for aflatoxin production byAspergillus flavus in stored peanuts

Sound mature kernels, broken mature kernels, immature kernels and unshelled cured Early Runner peanuts were inoculated with spores ofAspergillus flavus and incubated up to 84 days in controlled environment cabinets. In a series of experiments temperatures ranged from 8 to 49 C in combination with 98±1% relative humidity (RH); in others RH was varied from 70% to 99% at 30±1/2 C and from 83% to 99% at 20±1/2 C. Samples were removed after 7, 21, 42 and 84 days of incubation and assayed for aflatoxin, free fatty acids and peanut kernel moisture. Aflatoxin was formed in sound mature kernels at 40 C and 14 C and in broken mature kernels at 13 C, but none was formed at 41 C after 21 days or at 12 C after 84 days in 98±1% RH. The limiting temperatures for aflatoxin formation in peanut kernels with intact shells were 41 C for 21 days and 16 C for 84 days of incubation. The limiting RH at 30 C for aflatoxin production in sound mature kernels was 84%, whereas in broken mature and immature kernels it was 83% and in kernels from unshelled peanuts the limiting RH was 86% for 84 days of incubation. The limiting RH at 20 C for sound and broken mature kernels was 83%, whereas it was 86% RH for immature kernels and 92% for kernels from unshelled peanuts. Free fatty acid formation was correlated with visible growth of fungi rather than with aflatoxin production. Aflatoxin formation was generally correlated with kernel moisture contents of 10% or higher.     

The value-congruence model of memory for emotional experiences: An explanation for cultural differences in emotional self-reports.

In 3 studies, the authors found support for the value-congruence model that accounts for cultural variations in memory for emotional experiences. In Study 1, the authors found that in the made-in-the-U.S. scenario condition, European Americans were more accurate than were Asian Americans in their retrospective frequency judgments of emotions. However, in the made-in-Japan scenario condition, European Americans were less accurate than were Asian Americans. In Study 2, the authors demonstrated that value orientation mediates the Culture×Type of Event congruence effect. In Study 3 (a daily event sampling study), the authors showed that the congruence effect was explained by the importance of parental approval. In sum, emotional events congruent with personal values remain in memory longer and influence retrospective frequency judgments of emotion more than do incongruent events. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An Easy Method to Prepare D3 and C2‐TATP Crystals

D₃ and C₂ TATP structures interconvert at room temperature. Herein, an easy method to isolate both conformers is shown that consists of multiple recrystallization steps using different solvent and heating to boiling. Spectroscopic and physical measurements, such as Raman spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and melting point analysis, showed that clear and opaque crystals, respectively, represent different conformations of TATP. Additionally, the transition energy between both conformers was estimated using the Raman shifts.     

Lipoteichoic Acid and Lipopolysaccharides Are Affected by p38 and Inflammatory Markers and Modulate Their Promoting and Inhibitory Effects on Osteogenic Differentiation

Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) are cell wall components of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, respectively. Notably, oral microflora consists of a variety of bacterial species, and osteomyelitis of the jaw caused by dental infection presents with symptoms of bone resorption and osteosclerosis. However, the effects of LTA and LPS on osteogenic differentiation have not yet been clarified. We examined the effects of LTA and LPS on osteoblasts and found that LTA alone promoted alizarin red staining at low concentrations and inhibited it at high concentrations. Additionally, gene expression of osteogenic markers (ALP, OCN, and OPG) were enhanced at low concentrations of LTA. High concentrations of LPS suppressed calcification potential, and the addition of low concentrations of LTA inhibited calcification suppression, restoring the gene expression levels of suppressed bone differentiation markers (ALP, BSP, and OCN). Moreover, the suppression of p38, a signaling pathway associated with bone differentiation, had opposing effects on gene-level expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), suggesting that mixed LTA and LPS infections have opposite effects on bone differentiation through concentration gradients, involving inflammatory markers (TNF-α and IL-6) and the p38 pathway.     

Understanding extraverts' enjoyment of social situations: The importance of pleasantness.

Extraversion is a broad, multifaceted trait, yet researchers are still unsure of its defining characteristics. One possibility is that the essential feature of extraversion is the tendency to enjoy social situations. An alternative possibility is that extraversion represents sensitivity to rewards and the tendency to experience pleasant affect. In three studies, participants rated situations that varied on two dimensions: (a) whether they were social or nonsocial and (b) whether they were very pleasant, moderately pleasant, moderately unpleasant, or very unpleasant. Extraverts only rated social situations more positively than introverts did when the situations were pleasant, and extraverts also rated nonsocial situations more positively than introverts did if the situations were pleasant. Thus, the pleasantness of situations was more important than whether they were social or nonsocial in determining extraverts' and introverts' enjoyment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A fluorometric rapid screen method for aflatoxin in peanuts

Peanuts were screened for aflatoxin using a rapid, inexpensive fluorometric method. Peanuts were ground and extracted with methanol, and the extract was treated with acidified zinc-acetate-sodium chloride solution, filtered, and diluted with water. Fluorescence of the extracts was compared with that from aflatoxin-free control peanuts. Test samples (160) of several varieties and grades of sources and were screened for the presence of aflatoxin. One hundred thirty-five samples (84%) were identified by this method as aflatoxin positive (15 ppb+) or aflatoxin negative (<15 ppb). Although 22 samples (13.6%) were incorrectly labeled as aflatoxin positive, most of these showed evidence of the presence of mold metabolites other than aflatoxin. Three samples (1.8%) were incorrectly labeled as aflatoxin negative when they actually contained 20, 33, and 34 ppb aflatoxin.     

Flavour quality of tomatoes

Tomato volatiles present in essential oils obtained by steam distillation–continuous extraction and by head-space condensation were identified and evaluated organoleptically. Flavour quality of different samples of fresh tomatoes, evaluated by a panel, could be related to the occurrence and concentration of n-hexanal, trans-2-hexenal, cis-3-hexen-1-ol, 2-isobutylthiazole and some unidentified compounds in the head space condensation essential oil.