Olfactory bulbectomy: Neural structures involved in irritability and aggression in the male rat.

Performed bilateral ablations of the main olfactory bulbs of 12 male hooded rats (main OB group), of the main and accessory bulbs of 21 Ss (OB + AOB group), of the bulbs and areas caudal to the bulbs of 20 Ss (supra-OB group), and of the caudal areas only on 9 Ss (caudal group). Sham bulbectomy was performed on 7 Ss, and 8 controls were unoperated. The supra-OB and caudal groups became extremely irritable and the OB + AOB group somewhat irritable, while the main OB group was unchanged in irritability. Mouse killing increased within all groups. Postoperative irritability, but not killing, was highly correlated with extent of brain damage, while killing was correlated with irritability. It is concluded that bulbectomy-induced irritability is dependent upon damage to areas within and caudal to the bulbs to which the stria terminalis projects, and that both the irritability and killing are the result of altering a common motivational mechanism. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transfilter

The Transfilter is a combination of a leakage-reactance magnetic structure and a capacitor, which is interposed between an ac thyristor voltage controller and the load, to filter the load current, to provide current-source characteristics, and to act as an isolation and impedance-level transformer. The Transfilter was originally developed to provide sinewave adjustable current up to 50 A at 60 Hz for an automatic power-system-relay tester.     

Convergent and discriminant validity for areas and methods of rating job satisfaction.

A study to determine the convergent and discriminant validity of 4 rating methods and 5 areas of job satisfaction. Measures were administered to 133 randomly selected employees from 2 companies. A rating method employing a series of 6 faces ranging from a scowl to a smile and a direct graphic rating method were best according to the criteria of convergent and discriminant validity. All areas adequately satisfied both criteria, but the pay, promotions, and supervision areas showed somewhat greater discriminant validity than the work and people areas. The greater appropriateness of the convergent and discriminant criteria, as compared to other possible criteria, for demonstrating the validity of areas and measures of job satisfaction is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Health information on the Internet and people living with HIV/AIDS: Information evaluation and coping styles.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 26(5) of Health Psychology (see record 2007-13009-005). Table 1 mistakenly reported that the correlation between total Internet use and gender was r = .14, which, given the coding for gender, would be interpreted as women using the Internet more than men. However, as correctly stated in the text and indicated throughout the rest of the article, men used the Internet significantly more than women. The correct correlation between total Internet use and gender in Table 1 should therefore be r = .14.] Individuals who seek information on the Internet to cope with chronic illness may be vulnerable to misinformation and unfounded claims. This study examined the association between health-related coping and the evaluation of health information. Men (n = 347) and women (n = 72) who were living with HIV/AIDS and reported currently using the Internet completed measures assessing their Internet use. Health Web sites downloaded from the Internet were also rated for quality of information. HIV-positive adults commonly used the Internet to find health information (66%) and to learn about clinical trials (25%); they also talked to their physicians about information found online (24%). In a multivariate analysis, assigning higher credibility to unfounded Internet information was predicted by lower incomes, less education, and avoidant coping styles. People who cope by avoiding health information may be vulnerable to misinformation and unfounded claims that are commonly encountered on the Internet. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sensation seeking, alcohol use, and sexual behaviors among sexually transmitted infection clinic patients in Cape Town, South Africa.

Alcohol use is associated with risks for HIV/AIDS. The association between alcohol and sexual risk may be accounted for by sensation seeking personality. However, sensation seeking in relation to substance use and HIV risk has not been examined in Africa. In this study, 292 men and 219 women receiving sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnostic and treatment services in Cape Town, South Africa, completed anonymous behavioral surveys. Structural modeling was used to test a model of alcohol use and sensation seeking in relation to sexual risk behaviors. Results showed that sensation seeking and alcohol use in sexual contexts were related to HIV risks, controlling for gender and marital status. The association between sensation seeking and HIV risk was partly accounted for by alcohol use in proximity to sex. In contrast to studies conducted in the United States, sensation seeking was not related to alcohol-sex outcome expectancies. These findings suggest that alcohol use is an important HIV transmission risk factor for many STI clinic patients and that interventions for individuals who are characterized as sensation seekers are urgently needed in South Africa. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High-mobility solution-processed copper phthalocyanine-based organic field-effect transistors

Solution-processed films of 1,4,8,11,15,18,22,25-octakis(hexyl) copper phthalocyanine (CuPc₆) were utilized as an active semiconducting layer in the fabrication of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) in the bottom-gate configurations using chemical vapour deposited silicon dioxide (SiO₂) as gate dielectrics. The surface treatment of the gate dielectric with a self-assembled monolayer of octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) resulted in values of 4×10⁻² cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ and 10⁶ for saturation mobility and on/off current ratio, respectively. This improvement was accompanied by a shift in the threshold voltage from 3 V for untreated devices to -2 V for OTS treated devices. The trap density at the interface between the gate dielectric and semiconductor decreased by about one order of magnitude after the surface treatment. The transistors with the OTS treated gate dielectrics were more stable over a 30-day period in air than untreated ones.     

Using Guide Wavelengths to Assess Far-Infrared Laser Emissions

An optically pumped molecular laser system with a transverse excitation scheme has been used to observe 77 guide wavelengths associated with the modes of an oversized waveguide laser resonator. These guide wavelengths, spanning from 102.6 to 990.6 μm, were generated by a variety of lasing media, including methanol along with several symmetric- and asymmetric-top molecules. The guide wavelengths displayed several consistent characteristics when compared with their respective fundamental laser emissions: their wavelengths were about 0.47 % larger and their relative powers were at least a factor of ten weaker. The properties of these guide wavelengths were used to assess frequency and wavelength measurements associated with known far-infrared laser emissions. For several of these laser emissions, this prompted a reinvestigation and subsequent revision of their measured values. Five far-infrared laser frequencies were also measured for the first time.     

Corrosion sensors for concrete bridges

Corrosion of rebar in concrete bridges is a problem for the infrastructure and is difficult to detect. Engineers and scientists at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) have developed a device that is designed to be buried in the concrete when the bridge deck is poured. The device, known as a wireless embeddable sensor platform/smart aggregate (WESP/SA), can provide data about conditions within the bridge deck. This data will assist highway maintenance engineers in determining corrosive actions.     

Treatment planning for hyperthermia with ultrasound phased arrays

Treatment planning for ultrasound phased arrays suggests a strategy for hyperthermia therapy which satisfies therapeutic conditions at the target and spares other sensitive anatomical structures. To predict both desirable and harmful interactions between ultrasound and important structures such as the tumor, bones, and air pockets, a hyperthermia treatment planning system has been developed for ultrasound phased arrays. This collection of treatment planning routines consists of geometric and thermal optimization procedures specific to ultrasound phased arrays, where geometric treatment planning, combined with thermal treatment planning and three-dimensional visualization, provides essential information for the optimization of individual patient treatments. A patient image data set for cancer of the prostate, a difficult target situated in the midst of multiple pelvic bone obstructions, illustrates the geometric treatment planning algorithm and other tools for treatment analysis. The results indicate that the analysis of complex three-dimensional relationships between the applicator, anatomical structures, and incident fields provides an important means of predicting treatment limiting conditions, thereby allowing the hyperthermia applicator to electronically adapt to individual patients and specific sites