Insurance reimbursement: A mixed blessing.

Discusses possible undesirable effects of expanded 3rd-party insurance coverage for mental health services. It is suggested that in the absence of uniform qualification standards, the number of unqualified persons offering mental health services will increase. The distribution of services may become more and more unbalanced as practitioners seek lucrative urban locations. Services will tend to be made available to the less troubled but more affluent, and the type of treatment chosen by the practitioner will tend to be the most extensive and expensive. Fewer practitioners will want to work in public institutions, where pressure is greater and remuneration smaller than in the public sector. Suggestions for needed self-regulation in the mental health field are made. The article is followed by comments from 3 psychologists and a psychiatrist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fabrication of polystyrene latex nanostructures by nanomanipulation and thermal processing

The capability to fabricate nanoscale structures is a fundamental step toward realizing the promise and potential of nanotechnology. We report on precise manipulation and thermal processing using 100-nm polystyrene latex nanoparticles. This approach is illustrated by fabricating a three-dimensional nanostructure by using an AFM tip to position nanoparticles and then thermally processing to "sinter" the particles to form a contiguous, stable structure. We suggest that this is a general approach, but the use of polystyrene latex particles offers an advantage of low-temperature processing. Use of polystyrene latex also extends the range of materials for which we have demonstrated manipulation and suggests applications including fluorescent doping and electrically conducting polymers.     

Preface.

Introduces this special issue of Professional Psychology, which focuses on the area of industrial/organizational psychology. In the present selection of articles, the focus is on the topics of performance and job satisfaction, and management and organization. Issues of selection and placement are also included. The present special issue is not an exhaustive study of the field; rather, it presents a snapshot of a moving process of change and development in the profession. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Industrial psychology in Psychological Abstracts: 1927-1959.

By comparing the ratio of abstracts appearing in Psychological Abstracts to membership in American Psychological Association Division 14, the productivity of industrial psychologists over the years 1927-58 was judged not to be increasing as is generally assumed. "Get the academic people to write less; get the people in industrial settings… to write more; get the consulting organization staffs to be interested in research." Influence from psychologists in industry, consulting organizations, and professors of industrial psychology in universities is needed for this to occur. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hippocampal histamine receptors and conflictive exploration in the rat: studies using the elevated asymmetric plus-maze

The possible role of histamine receptors in the hippocampal formation on the exploratory motivation and emotionality of the rat was studied. An elevated asymmetric plus-maze composed of 4 different arms (no walls, single high wall, high and low walls and two high walls) arranged at 90 degrees angles was used. The exploration score, considered to be an index of exploratory motivation, and the permanency score, considered to be an index of emotionality (anxiety), were determined. Histamine was administered locally into the ventral hippocampus at three different doses (9, 45 and 90 nmol). Another group of rats was also microinjected with 45 nmol of pyrilamine (a histamine H1 receptor antagonist) or ranitidine (a histamine H2 receptor antagonist) in addition to 9 nmol of histamine in order to identify the possible type of histamine receptor involved. Histamine administration significantly inhibited the exploration score and increased the permanency score at the doses of 9 and 45 nmol in two of four arms. These effects were completely blocked by the administration of either histamine receptor antagonist. The present results suggest that in the hippocampal formation histamine inhibits exploratory motivation and decreases emotionality by activating both types of histamine receptors. Also, the elevated asymmetric plus-maze appears to be a suitable technique to quantify exploration and possibly "anxiety".     

Optical dephasing of triply ionized rare earths in transparent glass ceramics containing LaF3 nanocrystals

Optical dephasing of Pr3+ and Tm3+ ions doped in transparent oxyfluoride glass ceramics was studied with the two-pulse photon echo technique. It was found that the dephasing time of rare earth ions is dramatically less in nanocrystals embedded in a glass matrix than in bulk crystals. A quasi-linear temperature dependence obtained at low temperatures proved that the long-range interaction of the ions inside the nanocrystals with the two level systems of the glass matrix dominates the optical dephasing. The local thermal effect in glass ceramics containing nanocrystals elevates the local temperature, which results in the reduction of optical dephasing time. For Tm(3+)-doped glass ceramics, the elevation of local temperature induced by the irradiation of excitation laser even quenched the photon echo signals in the experimental study.     

Conserved residues amino-terminal of cytoplasmic tyrosines contribute to the SHP-1-mediated inhibitory function of killer cell Ig-like receptors

The heart has been recognized as a major target of thyroid hormone action. Our study investigates both the regulation of cardiac-specific genes and contractile behavior of the heart in the presence of a mutant thyroid hormone receptor beta1 (T3Rbeta1-delta337T) derived from the S kindred. The mutant receptor was originally identified in a patient with generalized resistance to thyroid hormone. Cardiac expression of the mutant receptor was achieved by a transgenic approach in mice. As the genes for myosin heavy chains (MHC alpha and MHC beta) and the cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ adenosine triphosphatase (SERCA2) are known to be regulated by T3, their cardiac expression was analyzed. The messenger RNA levels for MHC alpha and SERCA2 were markedly down-regulated, MHC beta messenger RNA was up-regulated. Although T3 levels were normal in these animals, this pattern of cardiac gene expression mimics a hypothyroid phenotype. Cardiac muscle contraction was significantly prolonged in papillary muscles from transgenic mice. The electrocardiogram of transgenic mice showed a substantial prolongation of the QRS interval. Changes in cardiac gene expression, cardiac muscle contractility, and electrocardiogram are compatible with a hypothyroid cardiac phenotype despite normal T3 levels, indicating a dominant negative effect of the T3Rbeta mutant.