Constructivist family therapy with the elderly.

Presents an approach for family therapy with elderly persons based on G. A. Kelly's (1955) personal construct theory. This approach provides a constructivist model of psychological functioning in families with elderly members. The model focuses on the events construed by the family, the content of family constructs, the focus of family construing, and outcomes of family construing for elderly family members. A case example of therapy with the family of a 75-yr-old man who presented with depression following the death of his wife is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The course in the history of psychology: Present status and future concerns.

The present study provides a turn-of-the-century status report on the teaching of the history of psychology in colleges and universities in the US. The data indicate that the course is offered regularly-in most departments of psychology and is frequently required of majors; these findings are consistent with earlier research. Most instructors teach the course largely out of personal interest and self-taught expertise with their primary teaching and research commitments to other areas of psychology. Few instructors engage in publication of research and scholarship in the history of psychology, although there are 2 journals in the field that provide an outlet for scholarship. The few positions that allow for primary commitment to teaching and research in the history of psychology is a possible cause of concern for the future of the course and for its place in the education of psychologists in the 21st century. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental switching in the parasitic nematode Strongyloides ratti

Strongyloides ratti is a nematode parasite of rats. It is able to undergo two types of development outside the host: heterogonic (free-living adults and sexual reproduction) and homogonic (direct larval development). Homogonic development has a number of similarities with the development of the dauer stage of free-living nematodes, including Caenorhabditis elegans. Using isofemale lines of the parasite, factors that control this developmental choice have been investigated. Isofemale lines can be selected for both heterogonic and homogonic development, but are still able to respond to environmental conditions. By using temperature shift experiments it has been possible to determine when larvae become developmentally committed. All larvae are developmentally committed after 24 h at 19 degrees C.     

Modern history of pragmatic and sentimental attitudes toward animals and the selling of comparative psychology.

The philosophical extremes of Michel de Montaigne and René Descartes regarding animals are contrasted with the more moderate position of Charles Darwin. Tensions between extreme and more moderate positions are traced from Montaigne and Descartes through late 19th and early 20th century popular magazine articles written by eminent psychologists. Popular magazine articles helped shape public awareness of comparative psychology and created an important climate of expectation about what the new discipline could accomplish. In view of recent threats to comparative psychology, it may be necessary for animal researchers to follow the lead of pioneer psychologists and go to the public through the popular press to argue that a moderate philosophy is in the best interest of humans, animals, and the future of comparative psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

THE EMISSION RATE OF DIMETHYL SULFIDE AT THE ATMOSPHERIC-OCEANIC INTERFACE

Dimethyl sulfide appears to be present everywhere in the surface ocean, is readily transferred into the marine atmosphere, and may account for about 30% of the natural component of the overall sulfur budget in the atmosphere. To investigate the apparent discrepancies between measured DMS fluxes, and theoretical predictions, we have examined the transport of DMS across the marine-atmosphere interface. An analysis of vertical flux was performed with a two-film model for the transport of DMS across the marine-atmosphere interface with chemical reactions. The photosensitized oxidation of DMS, its reaction with hydrogen peroxide in the aqueous film, and reactions with nitrate and hydroxyl radicals in the gas film have negligible effect on the DMS flux to the marine atmosphere. However, the flux of DMS into the atmosphere is most sensitive to the liquid-film thickness but not to changes in temperature and gas-film thickness. Model calculations showed that if the liquid-film thickness increases from 35 μm (turbulent sea conditions) to 200 μm (calm sea conditions), the flux of DMS reduces from 290 to 55 μg S m^-2 day^-1 at an ocean temperature of 15°C for a constant gas-film thickness of 0.3 cm     

Cobalt nanoparticles coated with graphitic shells as localized radio frequency absorbers for cancer therapy

Graphitic carbon-coated ferromagnetic cobalt nanoparticles (C-Co-NPs) with diameters of around 7?nm and cubic crystalline structures were synthesized by catalytic chemical vapor deposition. X-ray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis indicated that the cobalt nanoparticles inside the carbon shells were preserved in the metallic state. Fluorescence microscopy images and Raman spectroscopy revealed effective penetrations of the C-Co-NPs through the cellular plasma membrane of the cultured HeLa cells, both inside the cytoplasm and in the nucleus. Low radio frequency (RF) radiation of 350 kHz induced localized heat into the metallic nanoparticles, which triggered the killing of the cells, a process that was found to be dependent on the RF application time and nanoparticle concentration. When compared to carbon nanostructures such as single-wall carbon nanotubes, these coated magnetic cobalt nanoparticles demonstrated higher specificity for RF absorption and heating. DNA gel electrophoresis assays of the HeLa cells after the RF treatment showed a strong broadening of the DNA fragmentation spectrum, which further proved the intense localized thermally induced damages such as DNA and nucleus membrane disintegration, under RF exposure in the presence of C-Co-NPs. The data presented in this report indicate a great potential of this new process for in vivo tumor thermal ablation, bacteria killing, and various other biomedical applications.     

Tensile mechanical property evaluation of natural and epoxide-treated silk fibers

Silkworm cocoon silk and spider major ampullate (drag line) silk exhibit macroscopic tensile properties that, while impressive in the context of polymer fibers, are highly variable. The variability is linked to the cross-sectional geometry being nonuniform: silk fiber cross section changes significantly over distances that are small compared to the scale on which diameters are averaged by typical characterization techniques. This characteristic must be taken into account when evaluating chemical treatments (in the present case infiltrating with crosslinkable epoxide) that are aimed at improving strength or stiffness. The magnitude of any change in mechanical property must be considered in relation to the spread in values recorded prior to treatment. An apparent improvement in the mean value of a tensile property may turn out to be statistically insignificant when compared to the standard deviations associated with those data. Previous authors do not address this simple assessment of significance. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Tensile properties of Argiope trifasciata drag line silk obtained from the spider's web

The tensile properties of Argiope trifasciata (Argiopidae) drag line silk retrieved from mooring threads in the web were characterized. Scanning electron microscope images were used to determine the cross‐sectional area of the samples, allowing force‐displacement plots to be rescaled as stress–strain curves and to characterize fracture surfaces. Twenty‐eight samples were tested to obtain statistically significant values of the mechanical parameters (elastic modulus, stress and strain at the proportional limit, and tensile strength). The tensile strength of the material was subjected to a Weibull analysis—the first time that this has been attempted with a spider silk. A low value of the Weibull modulus, m = 3.4, was obtained, demonstrating that drag line monofilament does not have a sufficiently reliable tensile strength to function as an engineering material on its own. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 2245–2251, 2001