Support levels of undergraduate psychology departments in four-year colleges and universities.

Presents data on the budgetary and personnel support characteristics of undergraduate psychology departments, based on the questionnaire responses of 256 department chairmen. Items include staff-student ratio; dollar support per student; faculty salary budget; faculty-classroom contract hours per week; supply, equipment, and travel budgets; and percent of salary increase for 1972. The data establish a normative base for undergraduate departments which may be used to compare the adequacy of support levels of individual programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The cyclops and the twelve-eyed toad: William James and the unity-disunity problem in psychology.

One of the dominating features of the psychology and philosophy of William James is a deep concern with the monism–pluralism issue. Because of James's fascination with monistic and pluralistic perspectives and the related problem of unity and disunity, he would have been keenly interested in current concerns about the diversity of psychology. His advice regarding diversity might be especially informative because it would be based on a lifetime of thought devoted to the theoretical and practical problems attending monistic and pluralistic orientations. This article briefly examines James's pluralistic vision of the world especially as expressed in his mature philosophical treatises. Attention is then directed to the advice James might have offered to those who seek disciplinary unity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Banded structures in oriented thermotropic polymers

Drawn fibres and shear-oriented thin films of four thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers have been examined using polarized light optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. A banded structure is observed in polarized light, with the striations lying perpendicular to the fibre axis or shearing direction. This structure closely resembles those previously reported in lyotropic polymers, suggesting that the supramolecular organization implied by the banded structure is a feature characteristic of oriented liquid crystalline polymers in general.     

Inhibitory effects of black tea theaflavin derivatives on 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced inflammation and arachidonic acid metabolism in mouse ears

Tea has been shown to possess several health beneficial properties primarily due to its polyphenolic content. The major polyphenolic compounds in black tea leaves are theaflavins (TFs) formed by oxidative coupling of catechins in tea leaves during its processing. In this paper, we report the characterization of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced mouse ear inflammatory model and the inhibitory effects of major black tea TFs derivatives on this inflammation. In addition, the effect on inflammatory biomarkers, such as proinflammatory cytokines and arachidonic acid metabolites, are reported as well. A single topical application of TPA to ears of CD-1 mice induced a time- and dose-dependent increase in edema as well as formation of proinflammatory cytokine proteins interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in mouse ears. A single topical application of equimolar of black tea constituents (TF, theaflavin-3-gallate, theaflavin-3'-gallate, and theaflavin-3,3'-digallate) strongly inhibited TPA-induced edema of mouse ears. Application of TFs mixture to mouse ears 20 min prior to each TPA application once a day for 4 days inhibited TPA-induced persistent inflammation, as well as TPA-induced increase in IL-1beta and IL-6 protein levels. TFs also inhibited arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism via both cyclooxygenase (COX) and lipoxygenase pathways. This observation was substantiated by decreased amounts of AA metabolites prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) levels. Combined application of TF and sulindac, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug resulted a significant synergetic anti-inflammatory effect. Oral administration of TFs or the hot water extract of black tea leaves also significantly inhibited TPA-induced edema in mouse ears. In conclusion, proinflammatory cytokines, IL-1beta and IL-6, as well as the intermediated metabolites of AA, PGE2, and LTB4 are good biomarkers for inflammation. Black tea constituents, TF and its derivatives, had strongly anti-inflammatory activity in vivo which may be due to their ability to inhibit AA metabolism via lipoxygenase and COX pathways.     

Inflammatory Process and Molecular Targets for Antiinflammatory Nutraceuticals

Intense interest in nutraceuticals and their potential benefits has created the need to review the existing scientific information on their effect in preventing and managing inflammation that accompanies most chronic diseases. This article reviews the basic mechanisms of inflammation and the potential of 9 nutraceuticals to be effective as chronic disease preventive agents. Furthermore, the article emphasizes studies in which nutraceuticals are shown to be effective in preventing inflammation and mentions other molecular targets that can be of use in the future. The effects of the following nutraceuticals: α‐tocopherol, ascorbic acid, curcumin, resveratrol, (‐)‐epigallocatechin gallate, theaflavin, genistein, omega‐3 fatty acids, and lycopene on reactive oxygen species scavenging ability, as well as proinflammatory targets, such as tumor necrosis factor α interleukin‐1, interleukin‐1β, nuclear factor kappa B, cellular and adhesion molecules, cyclooxygenase‐2, inducible nitric oxide synthase, 5‐lipoxygenase (5‐LOX), phospholipase A₂, reactive oxygen species generating enzymes are discussed.     

Mechanical properties of single‐brin silkworm silk

Mechanical tests were performed on single brins of Bombyx mori silkworm silk, to obtain values of elastic modulus (E), yield strength, tensile breaking strength, and shear modulus (G). Specimen cross‐sectional areas, needed to convert tensile loads into stresses, were derived from diameter measurements performed by scanning electron microscopy. Results are compared with existing literature values for partially degummed silkworm baves. The tensile modulus (16 ± 1 GPa) and yield strength (230 ± 10 MPa) of B. mori brin are significantly higher than the literature values reported for bave. The difference is attributed principally to the presence of sericin in bave, contributing to sample cross‐section but adding little to the fiber's ability to resist tensile deformation. The two brins in bave are found to contribute equally and independently to the tensile load‐bearing ability of the material. Measurements performed with a torsional pendulum can be combined with tensile load‐extension data to obtain a value of E/ that is not sensitive to sample cross‐sectional dimensions or, therefore, to the presence of sericin. The value of E measured for brin can be used together with this result to obtain G = 3.0 ± 0.8 GPa and E/G = 5.3 ± 0.3 for brin. The latter value indicates a mechanical, and therefore microstructural, anisotropy comparable to that of nylon. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 75: 1270–1277, 2000     

Silkworm silk as an engineering material

While silk exhibits high values of tensile strength and stiffness, these properties are compromised by their poor reproducibility. We present the results of experiments aimed at characterizing the variability of tensile properties exhibited by cocoon silk from Bombyx mori silkworms. Scanning electron microscopy is used to measure an average diameter for individual test specimens; the interspecimen variability of diameter is quantified and found to be inadequately represented by standard deviation. When load-extension data are converted into stress-strain curves, a marked improvement in reproducibility is realized if each specimen cross-section is calculated from diameter measurements specific to that specimen. Nevertheless, a significant variability in fracture stress remains; a Weibull analysis reveals that silkworm silk has a failure predictability comparable with that of glass and nonengineering ceramics. Unloading/reloading tests demonstrate that stiffness is not significantly affected by cumulative deformation, and the stress–strain relationship is not sensitive to strain rate. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 70: 2439–2447, 1998     

High-aspect ratio and horizontally oriented carbon nanotubes synthesized by RF-cCVD

Horizontally aligned long carbon nanotubes were efficiently synthesized on Si substrates by using a radio-frequency catalytic chemical vapor deposition method. The morphological as well as the growth properties of these nanotubes were systematically investigated with various analytical techniques including microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Different reaction parameters such as temperature, type of hydrocarbon gas and catalyst amount were varied and their effects on the nanotube size, quality and alignment are reported. High-aspect ratio and horizontally oriented nanotubes were found to grow following the “tip growth” mechanism. The fast and localized heating rate produced by the RF generator helps nanotubes to separate and lift the nano-particles away from the support and hence contributes to the growth of CNTs with a very high-aspect ratio. Carbon nanotubes synthesized with methane show a better horizontal alignment compared to those synthesized with acetylene, which might be due to the flow rate of the hydrocarbon gas.