Depression and social problem solving.

20 depressed patients with major depressive disorder, 20 nondepressed matched control Ss, and 17 patients with anxiety disorders were compared in different measures of social problem solving. Problem solving was assessed with the Means-Ends Problem-Solving Test (Study 1), the solution of personal problems, and a problem-solving questionnaire (Study 2). Results showed that, as predicted, depressed Ss suffered from a deficit in problem solving in all 3 measures. The majority of these deficits were also displayed by the clinical control group rather than being specific to a diagnosis of depression. However, depressed Ss produced less effective solutions than did normal and clinical control Ss. The results suggest that depressed and anxious patients may have difficulties at different stages of the problem-solving process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High‐Affinity Carbohydrate Binding by Trimeric Benzoboroxoles Measured on Carbohydrate Arrays

Carbohydrates are involved in a wide range of biological processes of pharmaceutical relevance. The selective recognition of carbohydrates is therefore of great interest in biology and medicine. In this study we present the synthesis of fluorescent multimeric benzoboroxoles and the analysis of multivalent binding processes to immobilized carbohydrate arrays by fluorescence spectroscopy. We observed high binding affinities of trimeric benzoboroxoles by determination of K_Dsurf values for their interaction with α‐Gal on glass chips. The observed K_Dsurf values were in the mid‐nM range (49 and 104 nM ) and are comparable to the K_Dsurf values for binding of natural lectins, such as that of ConA to immobilized α‐Man (79 nM ). The array technology was found to be an excellent tool for studying the binding processes of multivalent lectin mimetics with respect to profiling and quantitation.     

Approach versus avoidance: Different types of commitment in intimate relationships.

The major objective of the present study was to examine whether approach versus avoidance commitment to one's intimate relationship was differentially predictive of relationship quality parameters in the long run. In the 1st testing period, 134 participants (67 romantic couples) answered questions about approach- versus avoidance-related measures. Commitment and relationship quality parameters such as satisfaction and emotions depending on the partner's presence were assessed in all 3 testing periods. The proposed distinction between an approach and an avoidance type of commitment was validated through correlations with other approach- versus avoidance-related measures. Longitudinal analyses revealed that approach commitment predicted relationship quality parameters positively, whereas avoidance commitment predicted them negatively. The results are discussed in terms of the benefit of an approach-avoidance-based conceptualization of commitment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Species richness, structural diversity and species composition in meadows created by visitors of a botanical garden in Switzerland

Biodiversity is an increasingly important criterion in designing ecological compensation areas and urban green areas. However, little is known about how important biodiversity is to the general public. This paper presents the results of two complementary studies investigating the meadow preferences of visitors to a botanical garden in Switzerland. In the first study, 152 people were asked to create their own favourite meadow patch by selecting 25 out of 779 local wild plants (54 species) that were displayed in flowerpots. In the second study, 143 people were asked with the help of a written questionnaire to imagine a bare piece of land the size of 100 m × 100 m close to their place of living and mentally create the meadow of their dreams. In both cases, study participants assembled meadows that were species-rich and rich in structural diversity (expressed by plant height and leaf forms). Moreover, they explicitly stated diversity as their main assemblage criterion. Although study participants favoured plants with large or colourful flowers, only a third of all plants in the meadows created with real plants were flowering and in people's imagined meadows grasses were frequently included, indicating that people like diverse meadows consisting of a green matrix with some colourful flowers.     

Probability of infancy problems for space launch vehicles

This paper addresses the treatment of ‘infancy problems’ in the reliability analysis of space launch systems. To that effect, we analyze the probability of failure of launch vehicles in their first five launches. We present methods and results based on a combination of Bayesian probability and frequentist statistics designed to estimate the system's reliability before the realization of a large number of launches. We show that while both approaches are beneficial, the Bayesian method is particularly useful when the experience base is small (i.e. for a new rocket). We define reliability as the probability of success based on a binary failure/no failure event. We conclude that the mean failure rates appear to be higher in the first and second flights (≈1/3 and 1/4, respectively) than in subsequent ones (third, fourth and fifth), and Bayesian methods do suggest that there is indeed some difference in launch risk over the first five launches. Yet, based on a classical frequentist analysis, we find that for these first few flights, the differences in the mean failure rates over successive launches or over successive generations of vehicles, are not statistically significant (i.e. do not meet a 95% confidence level). This is true because the frequentist analysis is based on a fixed confidence level (here: 95%), whereas the Bayesian one allows more flexibility in the conclusions based on a full probability density distribution of the failure rate and therefore, permits better interpretation of the information contained in a small sample. The approach also gives more insight into the considerable uncertainty in failure rate estimates based on small sample sizes.     

Managing fire risk onboard offshore platforms: Lessons from Piper Alpha and probabilistic assessment of risk reduction measures

The offshore oil platform Piper Alpha was destroyed in July 1988 by a catastrophic fire. The causes of the accident included a combination of technical and organizational factors. In this paper, I describe the accident, its chronology, and the dependencies involved. I then examine some of the human errors that led to the disaster and their organizational roots, such as economic pressures, the permit-to-work system, and the inadequacy of regulatory oversight in the United Kingdom at the time of the accident. Risk-reduction measures can be costly, however, and priorities must be set based on costs and benefits. To this end, I describe a probabilistic risk analysis model that can be used to assess the benefits of different fire safety measures, focusing on reinforcing the emergency water pumps.     

Effect of transglutaminase on the quality of wheat-based pasta products

Transglutaminase (TG) enzyme was tested in T. aestivum and T. durum wheat-based model systems to evaluate the quality improvement to pasta imparted by cross-linking. Quality was measured by the enhancement in sensory and cooking properties. In this process, tests were also performed to establish the biochemical structure-functions of the proteins involved at TG enzyme concentrations between 10 and 200 mg kg⁻¹. It was observed that the amounts of water/salt-, the alcohol- and the alkali-soluble protein fractions were reduced significantly. Change in the molecular weight distribution assessed by SDS PAGE was also noticed. The sensory properties were observed to improve from high water uptake and low cooking loss. The TG treatment changed the gluten structure in the modified pasta products. Immune-reactive gliadin fractions were detected by immunoblotting and independently measured by competitive indirect ELISA, using the anti-gliadin rabbit IgG.     

The far infra-red spectrum of crystalline polytetrafluoroethylene

The far infra-red spectrum of highly crystalline polytetrafluoroethylene has been shown to contain a new band near 33cm^?1, the band at 55cm^?1 has been shown to be a close doublet and two further bands at 291 and 308cm^?1 have been observed. These results strongly support the conclusions of Boerio and Koenig from Raman observations that the unit cell contains at least two molecular segments.