Weight suppression predicts weight gain over treatment but not treatment completion or outcome in bulimia nervosa.

The authors attempted to replicate previous findings that weight suppression is a significant predictor of treatment completion and treatment outcome (M. L. Butryn, M. R. Lowe, D. L. Safer, & W. S. Agras, 2006) and weight gain over treatment (M. R. Lowe, W. Davis, D. Lucks, R. A. Annunziato, & M. L. Butryn, 2006) among women with bulimic disorders. The authors also examined 2 alternative measures of weight variability. Participants were 132 women with bulimia nervosa treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy. Participants who dropped out of treatment did not have significantly higher levels of weight suppression than did treatment completers. Among those who completed treatment, weight suppression did not significantly predict binge eating and purging at post-treatment. Weight suppression did significantly predict weight change and, in particular, weight gain (≥5 kg) over treatment. Alternative measures of weight variability did not significantly predict treatment completion or treatment outcome, but 1 measure significantly predicted weight gain over treatment. In conclusion, the authors failed to replicate the previous finding that weight suppression predicts treatment compliance and treatment outcome, but they did replicate the finding that weight suppression predicts weight gain over treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factor structure integrity of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire: An English–French comparison.

The Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) is one of the pre-eminent measures of gender-specific personality characteristics. To evaluate the PAQ'S viability 20 yrs after its creation, the authors assessed the dimensionality and psychometric properties of the original PAQ and a French version using samples of 637 English-speaking and French-speaking university administrators. The structure of the English form of the PAQ was supported for both women and men when the data were submitted to confirmatory analyses. Support was not as convincing for the dimensionality of the French form of the PAQ, however. Some evidence for expected differences in mean Instrumentality and Expressivity scores was found between women and men. Findings support the continued use of the English PAQ as a measure of Instrumental and Expressive personality traits. Further study of the French PAQ is recommended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-evaluation of abilities: Accurate self-assessment versus biased self-enhancement.

In Study 1, 170 volunteers (mean age 24.2 yrs) chose among 8 forms of a cognitive abilities test that varied in their diagnosticity of success, diagnosticity of failure, and difficulty. In accordance with the self-assessment view, test choice was found to be positively related to diagnosticity of success and, to a lesser extent, diagnosticity of failure. Test choice was also dependent on the interaction of diagnosticity and difficulty in a manner that was more consistent with the self-assessment view. In a 2nd study that provided more precise measurement of perceived diagnosticity and expected success, data from 40 undergraduates indicate that the motives for self-assessment and self-enhancement were each reliably related to task preference. Of the two, self-assessment motivation was a stronger determinant of task preference. Results suggest that task choice is governed largely by a concern for accurate self-appraisal and that current models may require revisions that take into account the less-than-accurate appraisal of diagnosticity. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Utilizing Instructional Consultations to Enhance the Teaching Performance of Engineering Faculty

Although many kinds of data can be used to guide instructional consultations, research comparing the efficacy of such data is scant, especially in engineering. In this study, multiple modes of assessment were used to evaluate the impact of consultations informed by different kinds of data. This study illuminates two key aspects of instructional consultations: (1) their efficacy varies depending on the kind of data used to guide them, with student feedback from a Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID) having the largest positive impact, and (2) the instructional consultant plays a key role in helping both interpret the available data and identify strategies for improvement. These findings suggest three implications for practice: (1) whenever possible, SGID‐based consultations should be offered systematically and proactively for engineering faculty, (2) data for other kinds of consultations should be tailored to the needs of the individual instructor, and (3) instructional consultants should be available to collaborate with faculty to enhance their teaching, thereby building an engineering culture that actively supports teaching and learning.     

Survey of non-APA-accredited internships and their interns.

We obtained information about the characteristics of internship programs not accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) and of their interns. Surveys were completed by directors of 74% of the programs and 51% of the interns in these programs. The most prominent reason why these programs did not seek accreditation was financial, though several of these programs had been in existence for several years, and 65% of them indicated that they would eventually seek accreditation. More than half of the interns in these programs were from APA-accredited graduate programs; their choice of internship was closely related to the location of the site. Interns did rate APA accreditation as important in ideal site selection, although four factors were rated even more important. Over 350 interns train in nonaccredited programs, which suggests their importance in the development of professional psychologists. Efforts being made by the Association of Psychology Internship Centers (APIC) to apply minimum criteria to these programs seem well warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inhibitory processes in adults with persistent childhood onset ADHD.

The theory that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) stems from a deficit in an executive behavioral inhibition process has been little studied in adults, where the validity of ADHD is in debate. This study examined, in high-functioning young adults with persistent ADHD and a control group, 2 leading measures of inhibitory control: the antisaccade task and the negative priming task. ADHD adults showed weakened ability to effortfully stop a reflexive or anticipated oculomotor response but had normal ability to automatically suppress irrelevant information. Results suggest that an inhibitory deficit in ADHD is confined to effortful inhibition of motor response, that antisaccade and negative priming tasks index distinct inhibition systems, and that persistence of ADHD symptoms into adulthood is associated with persistence of executive motor inhibition deficits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Direct Chemical Activation of a Rationally Engineered Signaling Enzyme

Few chemical strategies for activating enzymes have been developed. Here we show that a biarsenical compound (FlAsH) can directly activate a rationally engineered protein tyrosine phosphatase (Shp2 PTP) by disrupting autoinhibitory interactions between Shp2's N‐terminal SH2 domain and its PTP domain. We found that introducing a tricysteine motif at a loop of Shp2's N‐SH2 domain confers affinity for FlAsH; binding of FlAsH to the cysteine‐enriched loop relieves Shp2's inhibitory interdomain interaction and substantially increases the enzyme's PTP activity. Activation of engineered Shp2 is substrate independent and is observed in the contexts of both purified enzyme and complex proteomes. A chemical means for activating Shp2 could be useful for investigating its roles in signaling and oncogenesis, and the loop‐targeting strategy described herein could provide a blueprint for the development of target‐specific activators of other autoinhibited enzymes.     

Disinfection by-products from halogenation of aqueous solutions of terpenoids

We report the formation of trihalomethanes and other disinfection by-products from four polyfunctional terpenoids during simulated chlorination of natural waters. Complex suites of products were identified by closed loop stripping analysis (CLSA)/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) from halogenation of β-carotene and retinol. β-Ionone appeared to be a key intermediate in the halogenation of β-carotene and retinol, reacting further under the reaction conditions to produce trans-β-ionone-5,6-epoxide and β-cyclocitral. Halogenation of the four terpenoids also produced trihalomethanes (THMs), most likely through haloform reaction on methyl ketone groups within many of the intermediates. Since halogenation of retinol produced a significant quantity of THMs at a slow reaction rate, retinol-based structures may possibly contribute to the slow reacting phase of THM formation in natural waters. Two polyhydroxyphenol model compounds were halogenated for comparison. The only products identified by CLSA/GC-MS from halogenation of 4′,5,7-trihydroxyflavanone and ellagic acid were THMs. 4′,5,7-Trihydroxyflavanone rapidly produced THMs, with an extremely high molar yield (94%) at pH 7. Terpenoids of the β-ionone and retinol type should be considered to be significant THM precursors, while 4′,5,7-trihydroxyflavanone has been shown to be an extremely significant THM precursor, potentially present within natural organic matter in water treatment processes and distribution systems.     

Insights from Theory on the Relationship Between Surface Reactivity and Gold Atom Release

Density functional theory, informed by experimental studies, is used to investigate the interplay of surface morphology, the adsorption site of reactants, the nature of the interaction between adsorbates and the surface, the potential energy landscape for adsorbates on the surface, adsorbate coverage, temperature, and the dynamic evolution of these factors during adsorption and reaction. We summarize our current understanding of Au atom release on the (111) surface and the corresponding effects on adsorption and reactivity. Gold was selected for these investigations because of the recent intense interest in the activity of gold nanoparticles for several important catalytic reactions. Fundamental experimental studies on Au single-crystal surfaces have established that atomic O is extremely active for oxidation of CO and olefins, that the local bonding of O is an important factor in determining the reactivity and selectivity for oxidation, and that Au atom release is induced by electronegative adsorbates, such as O, Cl, and S. These experimental results guided our theoretical studies. Density functional theory is an extremely useful tool since it evaluates the energetics associated with the incorporation of gold into the adsorbate layer, while providing fundamental physical insight into the underlying cause of gold incorporation. We use our results from static DFT calculations along with ab initio molecular dynamics simulations to understand the effect of surface morphology on the activity of gold for CO oxidation. Our investigation of Au atom release and incorporation induced by electronegative atoms clearly illustrates the importance of using experiments in combination with theory to establish the importance of and the underlying reasons for metal atom release and the affect on bonding and reactivity.     

Dechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyls in industrial transformer oil by radiolytic and photolytic methods

Used electrical transformer oils containing low or high concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were treated using electron, gamma, and ultraviolet radiation, and the conditions for complete dechlorination were developed. Dechlorination was determined by analysis of the inorganic chloride formed and the concentrations of remaining PCBs. Transformer oil containing approximately 95 microg g(-1) PCB (approximately 3.5 mmol L(-1) Cl) is completely dechlorinated by irradiation with 600 kGy after the addition of 10% triethylamine (TEA). Transformer oil containing >800,000 microg g(-1) PCB (17.7 mol L(-1) Cl) requires an additional solvent to prevent solidification. When this oil is diluted with 2-propanol (2-PrOH) and TEA (v/v/v, 1/79/20), complete dechlorination is achieved with a dose of 2500 kGy. Ultraviolet photolysis of the same oil/2-PrOH/TEA solutions led to 90% dechlorination after exposure for 120 h in our experimental setup. Such yields were obtained by radiolysis with a dose of 2000 kGy (300 h in our Gammacell). Replacing TEA with KOH in 2-PrOH solutions greatly increases the yield of dechlorination in both the radiolytic and the photolytic experiments, demonstrating that a chain reaction plays a role in both of these treatment methods and suggesting that both methods deserve further consideration for large-scale application.