Parental expressed emotion and psychophysiological reactivity in an adolescent sample at risk for schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

The correspondence between interview-assessed parental emotional attitudes toward a particular offspring (expressed emotion [EE]) and the psychophysiological reactivity of both parents and their children during a series of direct family interactions was investigated for a sample of 52 disturbed but nonpsychotic adolescents (aged 14–29 yrs). Parents who expressed an excessive number of critical comments during the interview were designated as high EE, and the remainder were designated as low EE. Both high-EE parents and their adolescent offspring became significantly more psychophysiologically reactive as the 1st of 2 family confrontations in which they participated progressed. Adolescents also showed greater arousal when anticipating interactions with a high-EE parent when that parent was first in the experimental sequence. These results are combined with those of a previous study by the authors and J. A. Doane (see record 1984-06985-001) to support the notion that the EE measure is marking clearly defined family emotional climates that appear to be related to the subsequent onset of schizophrenia spectrum disorders in this adolescent sample. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of active training upon conjunctive concept attainment in children.

Examined the performance of 48 3rd graders given no feedback as to the correctness of their hypotheses, on color-, number-, and size-dominant conjunctive concept problems. Each of 3 active training groups solved a training problem involving 1 stimulus dimension. A control group received only verbal instructions. Results of repeated-measures analyses of variance for both behavioral and verbal attainment indicate that (a) fewer trials to solution were required by active training groups (p     

Relationship enhancement versus a traditional approach to therapeutic/preventative/enrichment parent-adolescent programs.

Assigned 108 mothers (mean age 40 yrs) and daughters (mean age 13.4 yrs), mostly low in educational and socioeconomic status, to receive no treatment, a discussion-oriented traditional treatment, or a Relationship Enhancement (Parent Adolescent Relationship Development) treatment. There was no improvement without treatment. Participation in the traditional treatment—designed to improve (a) specific communication skills, (b) general communication patterns, and (c) the general quality of the relationship—resulted in improvement on 3 of the 5 measures of (c). The improvement on 1 of these measures raised them above their no-treatment counterparts at posttreatment. Ss in Relationship Enhancement improved significantly and reached higher levels than Ss in both other conditions on each of the measures assessing areas (a), (b), and (c). In addition to concluding that Relationship Enhancement is superior to a traditional discussion-oriented treatment, it can be concluded that a significant portion of its effectiveness stems from the particular methods it employs rather than from nonspecific factors such as experimenter demand, placebo, attention, and thank-you effects. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cu exposure under field conditions coselects for antibiotic resistance as determined by a novel cultivation-independent bacterial community tolerance assay

Environmental reservoirs of antibiotic resistance are important to human health, and recent evidence indicates that terrestrial resistance reservoirs have expanded during the antibiotic era. Our aim was to study the impact of Cu pollution as a selective driver for the spread of antibiotic resistance in soil. Bacteria were extracted from a well-characterized soil site solely contaminated with CuSO? more than 80 years ago and from a corresponding control soil. Pollution-induced bacterial community tolerance (PICT) to Cu and a panel of antibiotics was determined by a novel cultivation-independent approach based on [3H]bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation into DNA and by resistance profiling of soil bacterial isolates on solid media. High Cu exposure selected for Cu-tolerant bacterial communities but also coselected for increased community-level tolerance to tetracycline and vancomycin. Cu-resistant isolates showed significantly higher incidence of resistance to five out of seven tested antibiotics (tetracycline, olaquindox, nalidixic acid, chloramphenicol, and ampicillin) than Cu-sensitive isolates. Our BrdU-PICT data demonstrate for the first time that soil Cu exposure coselects for resistance to clinically important antibiotics (e.g., vancomycin) at the bacterial community-level. Our study further indicates that Cu exposure provides a strong selection pressure for the expansion of the soil bacterial resistome.     

The use of normal and heat-treated barley flour and waxy barley starch as anti-staling agents in laboratory and industrial baking processes

Normal and heat-treated barley, both as flour and waxy starch, were added at a concentration of 3% to a white wheat bread. The effect not only of selected additives, but also of laboratory- and industrial baking processes on stalling was evaluated. Laboratory baked breads with heat-treated barley flour differed from control breads with regard to water content, firmness and amylopectin retrogradation. The influence of water content on firmness increased with storage time. All laboratory baked breads with barley additives, except normal barley flour, were less firm after 7 days of storage as compared to the control although amylopectin retrogradation tended to increase. Improved water absorption, and consequently, increased water content and/or different water binding capacities of the flour/starch could explain these results. Industrial baking caused higher water losses, especially in breads containing additives, thus reducing the effects on amylopectin retrogradation and firmness.     

Furan fatty acid concentrations in tea infusions prepared from green,black, and herbal teas

Furan fatty acids (FuFAs) are valuable antioxidants with highly effective radical scavenging properties which are widely distributed at low levels in food. Previous research indicated that tea is a valuable source of FuFAs. However, tea is only consumed in form of infusions. To fill this gap, we prepared infusions from different herbal, green, and black teas. Initial measurements with GC-MSMS of tea verified previous findings that 11-(3,4-dimethyl-5-penylfuran-2-yl)-undecanoic acid (11D5) was the prevalent FuFA in tea matrix. Therefore, 11D5 was quantified in tea infusions by means of UHPLC-MSMS equipment after mild alkaline hydrolysis. While herbal tea infusions were low or free of FuFAs, 11D5 was detectable in all samples of green and black tea infusions. Amounts of 11D5 were higher in green tea than in black tea. Moreover, Darjeeling tea infusions were by ~30% richer in 11D5 than black and green teas from other regions. Each cup of green and black tea infusion may provide 20–60 μg 11D5, which is about 5% of the amounts found in tea samples. Spread over the day, regular tea consumption may contribute to the intake of valuable FuFAs.     

Nightly Home Hemodialysis: Fifteen Months of Experience in Lynchburg,Virginia

What constitutes adequate dialysis has been debated in the nephrology literature over the past eight years. The mortality rate of patients on dialysis in the United States is about 20% per year. We believed that short and infrequent dialysis sessions contributed to poor outcomes. To improve the results, Lynchburg Nephrology started the nightly home hemodialysis (NHHD) program in September 1997. Ten patients were trained in the first 15 months of the program. Patients dialyzed 7 – 9 hours, 6 nights/week, using the Fresenius 2008H machine. A standard dialysis solution with 2.0 mEq/L potassium, calcium concentration of 3.0 – 3.5 mEq/L was used. Dialysis solution flow rates were 200 – 300 mL/min. Serum phosphate levels were maintained above 2.5 mg/dL by adding 0 – 45 mL Fleet's Phosphosoda to the bicarbonate bath. Patients had marked improvement in quality of life as measured with the SF-36. Blood pressure was better controlled with fewer medications. All phosphate binders were eliminated. Caloric intake and protein intake increased to normal levels as measured by three-day dietary histories pre-NHHD, and at 3, 6, and 12 months on NHHD. Epoetin alfa dosages were reduced by about 50%. Nightly home hemodialysis should be considered as a valuable modality option for end-stage renal disease patients; it is potentially superior to conventional thrice-weekly hemodialysis.     

Betontechnologie und Dauerhaftigkeit von glasfaserbewehrten Bauteilen

Concrete Technology and Durability of Glass Fibre Reinforced Structures The durability of glass fibre reinforced concrete structures is significantly determined by matrix composition, the type of glass and its surface quality including necessary coatings. In the paper an experimental overview is given concerning special material influences and their interaction in the composite.     

Apparent chemical composition of nine commercial or semi-commercial whey protein concentrates, isolates and fractions

Summary Analytical results are given for whey powders prepared on a commercial or semi-commercial scale by three companies. Altogether, five preparations enriched in β-lactoglobulin, four whey protein isolates and a fraction enriched in α-lactalbumin were analyzed for protein composition, including %β-lactoglobulin, α-lactalbumin, bovine serum albumin, casein (glyco) macropeptide and the main triglycerides. Protein composition was determined by high pressure gel permeation and reversed phase liquid chromatography and by capillary zone electrophoresis. The extent of modification of the native β-lactoglobulin structure was also measured through the degree of lactosylation and the fraction of accessible free sulphydryl groups. One significant finding was that the calculated recovery of protein following quantitation of the chromatogram or electropherogram was seldom above 90% and occasionally below 60% of that loaded onto the column or capillary, raising doubts as to the reliability of the analytical results. Extrapolation by linear regression to 100% recovery allowed estimates to be made of the true β-lactoglobulin composition of the samples. The nine samples could be placed into three distinct groups with estimated true β-lactoglobulin weight % of 70.9 ± 1.1, 62.0 ± 3.4 and 39.5 ± 4.9. Physico-chemical properties of the group of samples are reported elsewhere (Holt et al ., 1999).