Stress, reactivity, and immune function in healthy men.

Examined the effects of acute psychological stress on lymphocyte proliferation and circulating levels of interleukin-1 and -2. 20 healthy men were exposed to 2 viewings of a gruesome surgery film and were asked to recall details of the film twice during a 20-min period. These Ss were compared to a nonstress control group of 9 Ss. Lymphocyte proliferation to the mitogen concanavalin-A was decreased during and after exposure to the stressor when compared to the control group. This decrease was more pronounced in Ss exhibiting greater blood pressure reactivity while viewing the film than in Ss showing smaller blood pressure responses. None of the other immunological measures was significantly affected by the stressor. Cortisol was not correlated with lymphocyte responsiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of guided imagery and music (GIM) therapy on mood and cortisol in healthy adults.

Healthy adults (N?=?28) participated in a randomized trial of Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM; a depth approach to music psychotherapy) sessions on mood and cortisol. Participants in both GIM and wait-list control conditions completed the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and donated 15 cc of blood before and after the 13-week intervention period and again at a 6-week follow-up. Split-plot factorial and post hoc analyses demonstrated that after 6 biweekly sessions GIM participants reported significant decreases between pre- and postsession depression, fatigue, and total mood disturbance and had significant decreases in cortisol level by follow-up. Pretest to follow-up decrease in cortisol was significantly associated with decrease in mood disturbance. A short series of GIM sessions may positively affect mood and reduce cortisol levels in healthy adults. Such changes in hormonal regulation may have health implications for chronically stressed people. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optical study of zinc blend SnS and cubic In2S3:Al thin films prepared by chemical bath deposition

Multilayers of zinc blend SnS crystalline thin film have been deposited onto glass substrates by a chemical bath deposition (CBD) method. The envelope method, based on the optical transmission spectrum taken at normal incidence, has been successfully applied to determine the layer thickness and to characterize optical properties of thin films having low surface roughness. Optical constants such as refractive index n, extinction coefficient k, as well as the real (??_r) and imaginary (??_i) parts of the dielectric constant were determined from transmittance spectrum using this method. Obtained low value of the extinction coefficient in the transparency domain is a good indication of film surface smoothness and homogeneity. To perform the heterojunction structure based on SnS absorber material, cubic In₂S₃:Al was deposited on SnO₂:F/glass as window layer using CBD with different aluminum content. Optical properties of these films were evaluated.     

Collective self-esteem as a moderator of the frog-pond effect in reactions to performance feedback.

Individuals who perform well within an unsuccessful group have more favorable reactions than equally capable individuals who perform poorly within a successful group. This frog-pond effect appears to occur because people focus on their relative performance standing within their group rather than on their group's overall performance level. It was hypothesized that this effect would be attenuated among people who value their social groups highly because they should be more likely than their counterparts to take into account their group's performance level when evaluating themselves. Four studies supported this reasoning. The frog-pond effect was strongest among individuals with lower collective self-esteem, an individualistic cultural heritage, or a weaker bond toward a particular social group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical trials and tribulations: lessons learned from recruiting pregnant ex-smokers for relapse prevention.

The development of smoking cessation and relapse prevention interventions for pregnant and postpartum women is a public health priority. However, researchers have consistently reported substantial difficulty in recruiting this population into clinical trials. The problem is particularly acute for relapse prevention studies, which must recruit women who have already quit smoking because of their pregnancy. Although these individuals are an important target for tobacco control efforts, they represent an extremely small subgroup of the general population. This paper describes multiple recruitment strategies used for a clinical trial of a self-help relapse prevention program for pregnant women. The effectiveness of the strategies and the direct expense per participant recruited are provided. A proactive recruitment strategy (telephoning women whose phone numbers were purchased from a marketing firm) was ultimately much more successful than a variety of reactive strategies (advertisements, press releases, direct mail, Web placement, health care provider outreach). We found few differences between proactively and reactively recruited participants on baseline variables. The primary difference was that the former had smoked fewer cigarettes per day and reported lower nicotine dependence prior to quitting. Strengths and limitations of the recruitment strategies are discussed.     

Further exploration of typical and maximum performance criteria: Definitional issues, prediction, and White-Black differences.

Addresses differences between typical and maximum performance criteria with a threefold purpose. First, the growing recognition that it is important to distinguish between typical and maximum performance criteria is examined. Second, clarification of definitional and measurement issues are addressed. Third, results of an empirical study are offered to contribute to the new knowledge base regarding typical and maximum performance criteria. The study investigates differences in validities of cognitive ability predictor measures against supermarket cashier typical and maximum performance criteria reflecting speed and accuracy. White–Black mean score differences on typical and maximum performance criteria are also examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Solubility Studia of Certain 2.3 Quinolino - Phthalidea

The solubilities of feve derivatives of 2.3 quinolino-phthalides in distilled water and in potassiem chloride solatioas of varying ionic atrength was detarained at 25°. 37°. and 51°C. The solubilities were lower in potassium chloride solutions: the over-all “aslting- out” comfficients were caleulated. for the effects of potaasium chloride using the empirical Setschenow equation logSo/S=KC

The differential beats of aolutions ranged from 2kcal/mole to 7.5 kcal/wole and were determined from the slopers of the semi-logaritimumic plots. of the solubilitiea verus the reciprocal temperaturas. The affect of the functional groups on this water solubilities of these compounds will be dlscussed.     

Neural Networks for Full-Scale Protein Sequence Classification: Sequence Encoding with Singular Value Decomposition

A neural network classification method has been developed as an alternative approach to the search/organization problem of protein sequence databases. The neural networks used are three-layered, feed-forward, back-propagation networks. The protein sequences are encoded into neural input vectors by a hashing method that counts occurrences ofn-gram words. A new SVD (singular value decomposition) method, which compresses the long and sparsen-gram input vectors and captures semantics ofn-gram words, has improved the generalization capability of the network. A full-scale protein classification system has been implemented on a Cray supercomputer to classify unknown sequences into 3311 PIR (Protein Identification Resource) superfamilies/families at a speed of less than 0.05 CPU second per sequence. The sensitivity is close to 90% overall, and approaches 100% for large superfamilies. The system could be used to reduce the database search time and is being used to help organize the PIR protein sequence database.     

Passive avoidance in syndromes of disinhibition: Psychopathy and extraversion.

According to the physiological animal model proposed by E. E. Gorenstein and J. P. Newman (see record 1980-24372-001), psychopaths and extraverts may be characterized by a common psychological diathesis related to behavioral inhibition. One aspect of this diathesis involves deficient passive avoidance learning, which has been central to explanations of unsocialized and antisocial behavior. In 3 experiments, a passive avoidance task was completed by 90 14–18 yr old males, 40 male university students, and 40 18–50 yr old men and women. Ss were also assessed on measures including the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and MMPI. Results support the prediction that psychopaths and extraverts would exhibit deficient passive avoidance relative to nonpsychopaths and introverts, respectively. The passive avoidance deficit was particularly evident in tasks that required Ss to inhibit a rewarded response to avoid punishment. The latter finding may be important for explaining the inconsistent results regarding passive avoidance learning in psychopaths. Discussion focuses on the importance of reward in mediating the passive avoidance deficit of disinhibited individuals and on the existence of an indirect relationship between psychopathy and extraversion—one that is consistent with the observed experimental parallels as well as with the more ambiguous evidence regarding a direct correlation between measures of the 2 syndromes. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)