Written Emotional Disclosure Buffers the Effects of Social Constraints on Distress Among Cancer Patients.

The aims of the present study were to examine whether written emotional disclosure would reduce distress among cancer patients and whether it would buffer the effects of high levels of social constraint (negative social responses to patients' expressions of emotion regarding their cancer) on distress. Cancer patients (N=104) were randomly assigned to write about their emotions regarding their cancer 20 min a day for 3 days or to write about a nonemotional topic. They completed questionnaires at baseline and 6 months postintervention. Results showed that written disclosure buffered the effects of social constraints on stress at the 6-month follow-up and that avoidance partly mediated these effects. The present data reinforce the notion that interventions should be tailored to patients' needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Absorption of silicon from artesian aquifer water and its impact on bone health in postmenopausal women: a 12 week pilot study

Background  

Decreased bone mineral density and osteoporosis in postmenopausal women represents a growing source of physical limitations and financial concerns in our aging population. While appropriate medical treatments such as bisphosphonate drugs and hormone replacement therapy exist, they are associated with serious side effects such as osteonecrosis of the jaw or increased cardiovascular risk. In addition to calcium and vitamin D supplementation, previous studies have demonstrated a beneficial effect of dietary silicon on bone health. This study evaluated the absorption of silicon from bottled artesian aquifer water and its effect on markers of bone metabolism.     

A pilot study of the efficacy of residuum lodges for managing sediment delivery to impoundment reservoirs

Residuum lodges comprise small dams constructed on feeder streams immediately before they enter a reservoir, behind which ponds form, where sediment is deposited. Despite their construction on many impoundment reservoirs (IRE) and catchwaters, little research has previously investigated their efficacy at removing sediments from feeder streams. The current pilot study has, therefore, been carried out at an IRE supplying Halifax, West Yorkshire, UK, where a residuum lodge was recently cleaned out. Sediment concentrations reaching the reservoir were reduced by up to 42% although no certain impacts were noted on the other water quality variables that were measured. Moreover, it was found that the clearance operation did not result in the release of excessive quantities of sediment into the reservoir. It was estimated that the cleared residuum lodge would take 12 years to refill. A survey of other residuum lodges in the Yorkshire region showed there to be considerable differences in their remaining capacities.     

Radio psychology and psychotherapy: Comparison of client attitudes and expectations.

We compared the expectations and attitudes of two groups of subjects who sought psychological help. One group (n?=?47) comprised callers to a radio counseling program broadcast in Israel that offers psychological help to parents and children; the second group (n?=?34) consisted of individuals who had received counseling in a child guidance clinic located in an urban center in Israel. We primarily compared the subjects' attitudes toward receiving psychological help. The results indicate that the attitudes of those who received help in the clinic were more positive than those who called the radio program. In addition, we investigated the satisfaction levels of callers to the radio counseling program and of those who received help in clinics. Last, we examined the callers' expectations of the radio counseling program and found them to be in keeping with the goals of primary prevention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Framing values: on ideological concerns in post-war architectural formalism

Our ongoing reassessments of post-war modernism, known as the International Style, focus on that modernism's claim to universal values. Researchers tend to wed universalism with the accented, formal form of this modernism, detached from all related context. This paper challenges these alleged ties by focusing on the revealing example of Mies van der Rohe, a leading representative of the International Style's legacy. The analysis considers Mies's approach within the intellectual context of its time. Engaging with the beliefs of a half-century ago about the promises and perils of universal values, we focus on the philosophical strains of logical positivism. What we find are shared interests, across the disciplines of architecture and philosophy, which shed new light on the claims of post-war modernism to universal values.     

How to measure the performance of a Collaborative Research Center

New Public Management helps universities and research institutions to perform in a highly competitive research environment. Evaluating publicly financed research improves transparency, helps in reflection and self-assessment, and provides information for strategic decision making. In this paper we provide empirical evidence using data from a Collaborative Research Center (CRC) on financial inputs and research output from 2005 to 2016. After selecting performance indicators suitable for a CRC, we describe main properties of the data using visualization techniques. To study the relationship between the dimensions of research performance, we use a time fixed effects panel data model and fixed effects Poisson model. With the help of year dummy variables, we show how the pattern of research productivity changes over time after controlling for staff and travel costs. The joint depiction of the time fixed effects and the research project’s life cycle allows a better understanding of the development of the number of discussion papers over time.     

Mothers' attitudes toward seeking help for their children from school and private psychologists.

What inhibits parents from seeking psychological help for their children? This study examined the attitudes of mothers of school-age children toward seeking psychological help from school psychological services and from private psychologists. Mothers express greater and more intense worries in relation to seeking help from school psychological services as compared to private psychologists. Hypothetical vignettes about a problematic child also showed that mothers prefer to refer both their own child and that of a friend to a private psychologist. Reducing the threat aroused by public sector psychologists should increase the utilization of psychological help for children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Around Madrid: the continuing influence of historical urban development plans on today’s periphery

This paper describes the peripheral development that has occurred in Madrid over the last 16 years (2000–2016), a period split by the economic crash that occurred in 2008. The paper argues that the relationship between economic development and infrastructure corridors witnessed in this peripheral development is intrinsically connected to the nineteenth and twentieth-century plans for urban growth. While these corridors have some similarities to the Strip model for an automobile city discussed by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott-Brown in their seminal book Learning from Las Vegas, the Madrid peripheries enjoy a long genealogy that complicates any easy link to the Strip, particularly around issues of economic speculation, typology and image-making or imagining, which will be introduced using the work of Michael Neuman and others. The research design adopted examines the treatment of the periphery in a number of historical plans, particularly their attitudes towards infrastructure and economic development, in order to establish connections between those historical plans and the city’s planned and (partially) realized peripheral development today.     

Hot Glue Gun Releasing Biocompatible Tissue Adhesive

Tissue bioadhesives are widely used in dermatology, surgery rooms, and in the field. Despite their advantages over sutures and staples, currently available tissue glues are limited by their mechanical properties and toxicity. Here, a new approach is described for wound closure that is based on a biocompatible, low melting point four‐armed N‐hydroxy succinimide‐modified polycaprolactone (star‐PCL‐NHS). Star‐PCL‐NHS is inserted into a hot melt glue gun, melts upon minimal pressure, and is extruded directly onto the wound, where it solidifies, bonding strongly with both edges of the wound. Changes in molecular weight allow control of adhesive strength, melting point, and elasticity properties. In vitro and in vivo evaluations confirm the biocompatibility of this system. The straightforward synthetic scheme and the simple delivery method, combined with the desirable mechanical properties, tunability, and tissue compatibility, are desirable traits in wound management.