Psychological resources, positive illusions, and health.

Psychological beliefs such as optimism, personal control, and a sense of meaning are known to be protective of mental health. Are they protective of physical health as well? The authors present a program of research that has tested the implications of cognitive adaptation theory and research on positive illusions for the relation of positive beliefs to disease progression among men infected with HIV. The investigations have revealed that even unrealistically optimistic beliefs about the future may be health protective. The ability to find meaning in the experience is also associated with a less rapid course of illness. Taken together, the research suggests that psychological beliefs such as meaning, control, and optimism act as resources, which may not only preserve mental health in the context of traumatic or life-threatening events but be protective of physical health as well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Enclosure size and hormonal state affect timing of nest return in female meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus).

We investigated 2 aspects of the hormonal regulation of maternal behavior in meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus): (a) when the transition in maternal responsiveness from primarily hormonal control to regulation by pup cues occurs; and (b) the effect of housing enclosure size on maternal nest attendance in voles injected with a prolactin suppressant, cysteamine hydrochloride (150 mg/kg) on Postnatal Day 2. In Experiment 1, meadow voles required 96 hr of pup contact to finish the transition from hormonal to pup-mediated maternal behavior; a period longer than found in other rodents. In Experiment 2, females housed in larger enclosures spent less time with pups after drug injection, primarily because they increased the amount of time they stayed away from the nest each time they left. In contrast, drug-treated females in standard cages showed no change in their patterns of nest attendance, possibly due to the presence of salient cues from nearby pups. Under naturalistic conditions, a female vole’s hormonal state may regulate nest approach, and help establish the necessary alternation between leaving the nest (e.g., to forage) and attending pups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cabs, male drivers and midnight commuting: manufacturing respectability of the unmarried women agents of call centers in India

The present paper discusses the role of cabs and the presence of other men in the cab in manufacturing respectability for the unmarried women agents of call centers in India. The night shift, an intrinsic part of work, at call centers in India demands mobility and access to public space during nights for its women employees. The paper elaborates how the relation between gender and space is evolving in the backdrop of the presence of someone trusted, through a shift from private patriarchy to public patriarchy for the women agents while accessing the public space. The paper is based on a total of sixty-one qualitative interviews conducted with unmarried women call center employees and parents based in Gurgaon, India.     

Development of a virtual curve tracer for estimation of transducer characteristics under the influence of a disturbing variable

This paper presents an artificial neural network (ANN)-based novel virtual curve tracer (VCT) for estimation of transducer response characteristics under the influence of a disturbing variable for computer-based measurement systems. The disturbing variable effect on transducer output response is a typical problem that affects the accuracy of such systems. Especially, change in transducer excitation causes its response characteristics to be highly nonlinear and complex signal processing is required to obtain its accurate direct model. The proposed VCT used a multilayer feed-forward back-propagation artificial neural network (MLFFBP-ANN)-based two-dimensional (2D) model for accurate fitting of transducer characteristics to measured data under the influence of a disturbing variable. The proposed model is trained with Levenberg–Marquardt learning algorithm for achieving an extremely fast convergence speed as compared to the existing ANN-based techniques.     

Sex differences in performance in the Morris water maze and the effects of initial nonstationary hidden platform training.

Sex differences in rats' performance on a stationary hidden-platform task (spatial task) in the Morris water maze and the effects of initial nonstationary hidden platform training (NSP training) were examined. The NSP training was designed to familiarize rats with the general requirements of the water-maze task without providing spatial information. NSP training led to faster acquisition and improved retention of the subsequent spatial task in both males and females. There was a sex difference favoring males on acquisition and retention of the spatial task only in rats that had not received previous NSP training. Moreover, there was an apparent reversed sex difference favoring females on some measures of spatial performance in NSP-trained rats. These results suggest that performance on the water-maze task, including the expression of sex differences, can be altered by previous familiarization with nonspatial aspects of the task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Apatite‐Binding Nanoparticulate Agonist of Hedgehog Signaling for Bone Repair

The hedgehog signaling pathway plays a critical role in bone development and regeneration. Applications of hedgehog morphogens or small molecular agonists are of interest in bone repair but constrained by low stability, high dose requirement, and nonspecific targeting in vivo. Herein, a nanoparticulate agonist as a new type of hedgehog signaling activator is developed for efficacious bone healing. The shell of nanoparticulate agonist consists of palmitic acid and oxysterol, which could modify hedgehog function and bind with the smoothened receptor to positively modulate hedgehog signaling. Meanwhile, the core is assembled with the sonic hedgehog gene/polyethyleneimine complex, which could synergistically enhance hedgehog signaling with oxysterol constituents. Moreover, alendronate is introduced into the nanoparticulate agonist to bind with hydroxyapatite for potential bone tissue targeting. Lastly, the nanoparticulate agonist surface is decorated with the guanidine group to overcome cell membrane barriers. The created multifunctional nanoparticulate agonist is successfully integrated onto apatite‐coated 3D scaffolds and demonstrates greatly improved osteogenesis in vitro and calvarial bone healing. This work suggests a novel biomaterial design to specifically promote hedgehog signaling for the treatment of bone defects.