On-column solvent exchange for purified preparative fractions

On-column solvent exchange, using many of the principles of solid-phase extraction, has been implemented to significantly reduce evaporation cycle time following reverse-phase preparative HPLC. Additional benefits, such as a reduced potential for salt formation, thermal decomposition, and residual solvent, are also described. Fractions obtained from preparative separations, typically in a large volume of acetonitrile:water, are injected into the preparative HPLC and then eluted in acetonitrile, creating a new fraction in a volatile organic solvent. Minimal modification to the instrument was required, and unattended operation is possible. Acetonitrile evaporation is achieved within 3 h, compared with 17 h for aqueous-based fractions; lower temperatures can be used during the evaporation step; mobile-phase additives, likely to form salts with the target compound if concentrated in the fraction, are removed before evaporation; sample recovery and purity are unaffected.     

A web-based formative assessment tool for Masters students: A pilot study

The use of web-based learning and assessment tools is growing in tertiary institutions around the world. To date, very few papers have reported the development and evaluation of a web-based formative assessment tool for postgraduate students. The aim of the present paper was to report on the development and evaluation of an online formative assessment tool for this student group. The web-based formative assessment tool was evaluated by a sample of undergraduate students, postgraduate students and academic staff within a psychology department in order to determine the suitability and sensitivity of the tool. The results of this pilot test suggest that the development of such a tool is both appropriate and feasible for Masters students studying psychology.     

The Effects of Survey Administration on Disclosure Rates to Sensitive Items Among Men: A Comparison of an Internet Panel Sample with a RDD Telephone Sample

Research using Internet surveys is an emerging field, yet research on the legitimacy of using Internet studies, particularly those targeting sensitive topics, remains under-investigated. The current study builds on the existing literature by exploring the demographic differences between Internet panel and RDD telephone survey samples, as well as differences in responses with regard to experiences of intimate partner violence perpetration and victimization, alcohol and substance use/abuse, PTSD symptomatology, and social support. Analyses indicated that after controlling for demographic differences, there were few differences between the samples in their disclosure of sensitive information, and that the online sample was more socially isolated than the phone sample. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for using Internet samples in research on sensitive topics.     

Data‐Driven Bending Elasticity Design by Shell Thickness

We present a method to design the deformation behavior of 3D printed models by an interactive tool, where the variation of bending elasticity at different regions of a model is realized by a change in shell thickness. Given a soft material to be used in 3D printing, we propose an experimental setup to acquire the bending behavior of this material on tubes with different diameters and thicknesses. The relationship between shell thickness and bending elasticity is stored in an echo state network using the acquired dataset. With the help of the network, an interactive design tool is developed to generate non‐uniformly hollowed models to achieve desired bending behaviors. The effectiveness of this method is verified on models fabricated by different 3D printers by studying whether their physical deformation can match the designed target shape.     

Continuous planar phospholipid bilayer supported on porous silicon thin film reflector

Reconstituting artificial membranes for in vitro studies of cell barrier mechanisms and properties is of major interest in biology. Here, artificial membranes supported on porous silicon photonic crystal reflectors are prepared and investigated. The materials are of interest for label-free probing of supported membrane events such as protein binding, molecular recognition, and transport. The porous silicon substrates are prepared as multilayered films consisting of a periodically varying porosity, with pore dimensions of a few nanometers in size. Planar phospholipid bilayers are deposited on the topmost surface of the oxidized hydrophilic mesoporous silicon films. Atomic force microscopy provides evidence of continuous bilayer deposition at the surface, and optical measurements indicate that the lipids do not significantly infiltrate the porous region. The presence of the supported bilayer does not obstruct the optical spectrum from the porous silicon layer, suggesting that the composite structures can act as effective optical biosensors.     

Maintenance of Response Readiness in Patients With Parkinson's Disease: Evidence From a Simple Reaction Time Task.

The authors explored the effect of Parkinson's disease (PD) on the generation and maintenance of response readiness in a simple reaction time task. They compared performance of idiopathic PD patients without dementia, age-matched controls, and younger controls over short (1-, 3-, and 6-s) and long (12- and 18-s) foreperiod intervals. After each trial, the authors probed memory for visual information that also had to be maintained during the trial interval. Patients and controls did not differ overall in their ability to maintain readiness over long delays. However, within the PD group only, errors in maintaining visual information were correlated with difficulty in maintaining readiness, suggesting that systems impaired in PD may facilitate the maintenance of processing in both motor and cognitive domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Prospective relations between bulimic pathology, depression, and substance abuse: Unpacking comorbidity in adolescent girls": Correction to Stice et al. (2004).

Reports an error in "Prospective Relations Between Bulimic Pathology, Depression, and Substance Abuse: Unpacking Comorbidity in Adolescent Girls" by Eric Stice, Emily M. Burton and Heather Shaw (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2004[Feb], Vol 72[1], 62-71). The findings of Leon, Fulkerson, Perry, Keel, and Klump ("Three to four year prospective evaluation of personality and behavioral risk factors for later disordered eating in adolescent girls and boys," Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 1999, Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 181-196), cited on page 62, were incorrectly reported. Leon et al. (1999) found that the latent variable of negative affect/attitudes determined at study entrance significantly correlated with final year eating disorder risk score when conducted with the full sample and when removing Time 1 high eating disorder risk subjects. This latent variable consisted of the GBI Depression, MPQ Negative Emotionality, EDI Ineffectiveness, EDI Interoceptive Awareness, and EDI Body Dissatisfaction scales. A subsequent univariate analysis of Time 1 Negative Emotionality scale score on Time 3 eating disorder risk, adjusting for initial eating disorder risk score, showed a nonsignificant effect size (Stice, E. [2002]. Risk and maintenance factors for eating pathology: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 825-848). (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2004-10364-006.) To elucidate the processes that contribute to the comorbidity between bulimic pathology, depression, and substance abuse, the authors tested the temporal relations between these disturbances with prospective data from adolescent girls (N = 496). Multivariate analyses indicated that depressive symptoms predicted onset of bulimic pathology but not of substance abuse, bulimic symptoms predicted onset of depression but not of substance abuse, and substance abuse symptoms predicted onset of depression but not of bulimic pathology. Results suggest that the comorbidity arises because certain disorders are risk factors for the other disorders. Findings also provide support for select etiologic theories and further establish the clinical significance of these conditions by showing that they increase risk for onset of other psychiatric disturbances. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Objectivity in the Eye of the Beholder: Divergent Perceptions of Bias in Self Versus Others.

Important asymmetries between self-perception and social perception arise from the simple fact that other people's actions, judgments, and priorities sometimes differ from one's own. This leads people not only to make more dispositional inferences about others than about themselves (E. E. Jones & R. E. Nisbett, 1972) but also to see others as more susceptible to a host of cognitive and motivational biases. Although this blind spot regarding one's own biases may serve familiar self-enhancement motives, it is also a product of the phenomenological stance of naive realism. It is exacerbated, furthermore, by people's tendency to attach greater credence to their own introspections about potential influences on judgment and behavior than they attach to similar introspections by others. The authors review evidence, new and old, of this asymmetry and its underlying causes and discuss its relation to other psychological phenomena and to interpersonal and intergroup conflict. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)