Parental relations and male homosexuality in patient and nonpatient samples.

Compares studies employing patient and nonpatient samples. R. B. Evans (see 43:7) has made an important contribution to etiological studies of male homosexuality by replicating the I. Bieber (see 40:2) questionnaire items with a nonpatient sample. Nonpatient samples are important because of the possibility of ruling out the contaminating factor of psychopathology other than homosexuality. Serious questions are raised about the role of parent-child disturbed relations as necessary and sufficient conditions leading to adult male homosexuality. Other etiological variables are briefly stated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The lipids of corn germ and endosperm

Mature kernels of an inbred corn were hand dissected into germ and endosperm fractions. Among various solvents tested, boiling, water-saturatedn-butanol extracted the most lipid from endosperm, and it was used as t h e extracting solvent for both germ and endosperm. The germ contained 78% of the total lipids and the endosperm 17%. The most striking differences in the fatty acid compositions of the triglycerides and polar lipids were higher levels of stearic and linolenic acids in the endosperm lipids. Although precautions were taken during extraction to inactivate lipases, immediately after harvest the free fatty acid level of the total lipids of the whole kernel was 6.5%. Ninety-five percent of the free fatty acids was in the endosperm fraction where the free fatty acids made up 36.5% of the total lipids. In germ, free fatty acids represented only 0.6% of the total lipids. The individual phospholipid and glycolipid classes of the endosperm and germ lipids were similar except for high levels of lyso compounds in the endosperm lipids. The higher levels of linolenic acid, free fatty acids and lyso lipids in endosperm may affect the keeping quality of the corn grain and of fractions milled from the endosperm. Presented at the AOCS meeting, St. Louis, May 1978.     

Role of the field-dependent and field-independent cognitive styles in academic evolution: A longitudinal study.

To assess hypotheses derived from field-dependence theory about the role of cognitive styles in students' academic development, a group of 1,548 students was followed longitudinally from college entry into graduate/professional school. The Group Embedded Figures Test was administered at college entry. 1,422 Ss were followed through their college careers, and 831 Ss were identified as having applied to graduate or professional school and 550 as having enrolled. In their preliminary choices at college entry, final college majors and graduate/professional school specialties, relatively field-independent students favored impersonal domains requiring cognitive restructuring skills (e.g., sciences) and relatively field-dependent students favored interpersonal domains which do not emphasize such skills (e.g., elementary education). Ss whose college-entry choices were incongruent with their cognitive styles tended to shift to more compatible domains by college graduation or graduate school; Ss with congruent choices tended to remain with their choices. Some tendency was found for students to do better in domains compatible with their cognitive styles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation of patient attributes to perceptions of the treatment environment.

Assessed the social climate of 4 residential alcoholism programs (a total of 326 patients) using the Community-Oriented Programs Environment Scale (COPES). COPES perceptions were essentially independent of 18 patient background, psychosocial functioning, and alcohol-related characteristics. Considered in conjunction with previous research in other psychiatric and nonpsychiatric settings, the results indicate that perceptions of the social climate of treatment programs are not simply measures of the personal characteristics of the perceivers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive stimulation in brainstorming.

Research on group brainstorming has demonstrated that it is less effective for generating large numbers of ideas than individual brainstorming, yet various scholars have presumed that group idea sharing should enhance cognitive stimulation and idea production. Three experiments examined the potential of cognitive stimulation in brainstorming. Experiments 1 and 2 used a paradigm in which individuals were exposed to ideas on audiotape as they were brainstorming, and Experiment 3 used the electronic brainstorming paradigm. Evidence was obtained for enhanced idea generation both during and after idea exposure. The attentional set of the participant and the content of the exposure manipulation (number of ideas, presence of irrelevant information) influenced this effect. These results are consistent with a cognitive perspective on group brainstorming. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temperature-dependent effects of cadmium on Daphnia magna: accumulation versus sensitivity

Standard toxicity tests are performed at one constant, optimal temperature (usually 20 degrees C), while in the field variable and suboptimal temperatures may occur. Lack of knowledge on the interactions between chemicals and temperature hampers the extrapolation of laboratory toxicity data to ecosystems. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the effects of temperature on cadmium toxicity to the waterflea Daphnia magna and to address possible processes responsible for temperature-dependent toxicity. This was investigated by performing standard toxicity tests with D. magna under a wide temperature range. Thermal effects on accumulation kinetics were determined by estimating uptake and elimination rates from accumulation experiments. To study temperature dependency of the intrinsic sensitivity of the daphnids to cadmium, the DEBtox model was used to estimate internal threshold concentrations (ITCs) and killing rates from the toxicity and accumulation data. The results revealed that increasing temperature lowered the ITC and increased the killing rate and the uptake rate of the metal. Enhanced sensitivity of D. magna was shown to be the primary factor for temperature-dependent toxicity. Since temperature has such a major impact on toxicity, a temperature correction may be necessary when translating toxicity data from the laboratory to the field.     

Comparative Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Salix Cortex Extracts and Acetylsalicylic Acid in SARS-CoV-2 Peptide and LPS-Activated Human In Vitro Systems

The usefulness of anti-inflammatory drugs as an adjunct therapy to improve outcomes in COVID-19 patients is intensely discussed in this paper. Willow bark (Salix cortex) has been used for centuries to relieve pain, inflammation, and fever. Its main active ingredient, salicin, is metabolized in the human body into salicylic acid, the precursor of the commonly used pain drug acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). Here, we report on the in vitro anti-inflammatory efficacy of two methanolic Salix extracts, standardized to phenolic compounds, in comparison to ASA in the context of a SARS-CoV-2 peptide challenge. Using SARS-CoV-2 peptide/IL-1β- or LPS-activated human PBMCs and an inflammatory intestinal Caco-2/HT29-MTX co-culture, Salix extracts, and ASA concentration-dependently suppressed prostaglandin E2 (PGE₂), a principal mediator of inflammation. The inhibition of COX-2 enzyme activity, but not protein expression was observed for ASA and one Salix extract. In activated PBMCs, the suppression of relevant cytokines (i.e., IL-6, IL-1β, and IL-10) was seen for both Salix extracts. The anti-inflammatory capacity of Salix extracts was still retained after transepithelial passage and liver cell metabolism in an advanced co-culture model system consisting of intestinal Caco-2/HT29-MTX cells and differentiated hepatocyte-like HepaRG cells. Taken together, our in vitro data suggest that Salix extracts might present an additional anti-inflammatory treatment option in the context of SARS-CoV-2 peptides challenge; however, more confirmatory data are needed.     

Secondhand smoke exposure and the risk of hearing loss

Hearing loss has been associated with tobacco smoking, but its relationship with secondhand smoke is not known. We sought to investigate the association between secondhand smoke exposure and hearing loss in a nationally representative sample of adults. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a nationally representative cross-sectional dataset, was utilised to investigate the association between secondhand smoke exposure and hearing loss. Data collected from non-smoking participants aged 20-69 years were included in the analysis if they had completed audiometric testing, had a valid serum continue value, and provided complete smoking, medical co-morbidity and noise exposure histories (N=3307). Hearing loss was assessed from averaged pure-tone thresholds over low- or mid-frequencies (500, 1000 and 2000 Hz) and high-frequencies (3000, 4000, 6000 and 8000 Hz), and was defined as mild or greater severity (pure-tone average in excess of 25 dB HL). Second-Hand Smoke (SHS) exposure was significantly associated with increased risk of hearing loss for low-/mid-frequencies (adjusted OR=1.14; 95% CI 1.02-1.28 for never smokers and 1.30; 1.10-1.54 for former smokers) and high-frequencies (1.40; 1.22-1.81 for former smokers), after controlling for potential confounders. Findings from the present analysis indicate that SHS exposure is associated with hearing loss in non-smoking adults.     

Phase change phenomena in silicon microchannels

Understanding the boiling process and two-phase flow behavior in microchannels is the key to developing microchannel heat sinks for high-power microprocessors. We conducted experiments in micromachined silicon channels with a range of 27-171 μm hydraulic diameters and varying surface roughnesses. Bubble nucleation, flow patterns, wall temperature, as well as transient pressure fluctuations were recorded and analyzed. We observed both typical nucleate boiling and eruption boiling with large amounts of wall superheat in these channels, and recorded up to 138 kPa transient pressure fluctuations due to bubble nucleation. We found the boiling mechanism is strongly dependent on the wall surface roughness, and we explained the boiling mechanism in sub-150 μm diameter channels with Hsu’s model.