Cognitive interpersonal problem-solving skills and the maintenance of treatment success in heroin addicts.

Discusses an unexpected outcome of heroin addiction treatment; namely, the failure inherent in successfully removing patients from illicit drug use, only to find that in doing so, expectations on the part of clients regarding their ability to effectively function in society have risen beyond their ability to realistically attain their goals. Recidivism becomes likely when addicts cannot cope with the stress of low status employment, specific situations of the nondrug world, recreational drug use of straight co-workers, and the effort of maintaining gains made in treatment. Cognitive interpersonal problem-solving skills are recommended as a means of focusing the addict on developing habitual thinking on alternatives, consequences, means and ends, different perspectives, and social influences on the addict's own actions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The HMG-CoA Reductase Gene and Lipid and Lipoprotein Levels: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR) is an enzyme involved in cholesterol synthesis. To investigate the contribution of the HMGCR gene to lipids and lipoprotein subfractions in different ethnicities, we performed an association study in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). In total, 2,444 MESA subjects [597 African-Americans (AA), 627 Chinese-Americans (CHA), 612 European-Americans (EA), and 608 Hispanic-Americans (HA)] without statin use were included. Participants had measurements of blood pressure, anthropometry, and fasting blood samples. Subjects were genotyped for 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). After excluding SNPs with minor allele frequency <5%, a single block was constructed. The most frequent haplotype was H1 (41–56%) in all ethnic groups except AA (H2a, 44.9%). Lower triglyceride level was associated with the H2a haplotype in AA and H2 in HA. In HA, H4 carriers had higher levels of triglyceride and small low-density lipoprotein (s-LDL), and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), while carriers with H7 or H8 had associations with these traits in the opposite direction. No significant association was discovered in both CHA and EA. The total variation for triglyceride that could be explained by H2 alone was 2.6% in HA and 1.4% in AA. In conclusion, HMGCR gene variation is associated with multiple lipid/lipoprotein traits, especially with triglyceride, s-LDL, and HDL-c. The impact of the genetic variance is modest and differs greatly among ethnicities.     

Object loss, mourning, and adjustment to disability.

This article explores the relationship between concepts of object loss and mourning and the loss of a bodily part or psychological or physical function in a rehabilitation context. The psychoanalytic literature on object loss and the mourning process is reviewed and related to existing literature on the adjustment-to-disability process. Similarities and differences between the classical mourning process and the adjustment-to-disability process are discussed, and suggestions are offered for using psychoanalytic strategies to facilitate adjustment to disability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anaphoric inference during reading.

Examined whether antecedents are reactivated by anaphor, in 3 experiments with a total of 144 undergraduates, using additional control sentences and an alternative response time measure. Ss read a series of texts each containing a target item. Immediately after the last line of each text, the item was probed using a recognition task in Exp I and a naming task in Exp II. Ss were faster to respond to the item when the last line contained an anaphoric reference to it than when the last line referred to a different item from the text. Additional control conditions ensured that the effect was not due to semantic priming and that the probed item was not in working memory when the last line was encountered. Findings in Exp III, which compared reading and naming times when the last sentence continued the established topic with times when the last sentence changed the topic, suggest that previous evidence for reinstatement reflected interference from a change of topic in the last line rather than facilitation due to reinstatement of the probed item. It is suggested that the paradigm developed by G. McKoon and R. Ratcliff (see record 1981-24997-001) requires careful control of variables. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facilitation and inhibition of the human startle blink reflexes by stimulus anticipation.

The cutaneous eyeblink has 2 electromyographic components, 1 unilateral and early (R1) and 1 bilateral and late (R2), which are served by different neural pathways. These 2 reactions were measured when the eliciting stimulus was expected or relatively surprising. Forewarning was varied in 3 ways: Subjects received notice that the stimulus was about to occur on some trials (Experiment 1); delivered the stimulus to themselves on some trials (Experiments 2 & 3); or experienced a series of trials in which a tone was paired with the eliciting stimulus, followed by tone-alone trials interspersed with test trials (Experiment 4). In each case, forewarning enhanced R1 amplitudes while depressing R2 but reduced the latency of both components. This mixed pattern of effects reveals that the preparatory state provoked by forewarning focuses excitatory and inhibitory processes simultaneously on different reflex pathways: inhibition central and excitation peripheral. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Issues in preparing an edited volume in psychology.

Discusses the factors that should be considered when preparing to edit a high-quality, scholarly psychology book. The issues discussed include the book editor–publisher relationship, the book editor–chapter contributor relationship, and what makes a good final product. Three laws of editing are offered: (1) conceptualize clearly; (2) edit fiercely; and (3) edit for the reader, not the writer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conversion of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) to methyl crotonate for the production of biobased monomers

Within the concept of the replacement of fossil with biobased resources, bacterial polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) can be obtained from volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from agro‐food waste streams and used as an intermediate toward attractive chemicals. Here we address a crucial step in this process, the conversion of PHB to methyl crotonate (MC), which can be converted via cross‐metathesis with ethylene to methyl acrylate and propylene, two important monomers for the plastics industry. The conversion of PHB to MC proceeds via a thermolysis of PHB to crotonic acid (CA), followed by an esterification to MC. At pressures below 18 bar, the thermolysis of PHB to CA is the rate‐determining step, where above 18 bar, the esterification of CA to MC becomes rate limiting. At 200°C and 18 bar, a full conversion and 60% selectivity to MC is obtained. This conversion circumvents processing and application issues of PHB as a polymer and allows PHB to be used as an intermediate to produce biobased chemicals. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42462.     

American Symbolism in Intercultural Communication: An Animosity/Ethnocentrism Perspective on Intergroup Relations and Consumer Attitudes

What leads to acceptance versus rejection of messages that represent one's own culture/in‐group, or a foreign culture/out‐group? We investigate how symbols in mass communication might be used to overcome biases toward in‐group and out‐group messages. We experimentally study these effects across countries representing varying levels of consumer ethnocentrism (which relates to attitudes about one's own country, or in‐group) and country‐specific animosity (which relates to attitudes about a particular foreign country, or out‐group). We select 4 countries based on varying levels of ethnocentrism and U.S.‐focused animosity. Using a Social Identity perspective, we find support for asymmetries of response regarding in‐group preference and out‐group discrimination within the context of U.S. and indigenous cultural representations in the form of symbols and brands.     

Diagrid structural systems for tall buildings: characteristics and methodology for preliminary design

Diagrid structural systems are emerging as structurally efficient as well as architecturally significant assemblies for tall buildings. This paper presents a simple methodology for determining preliminary member sizes. The methodology is applied to a set of building heights ranging from 20 to 60 stories, and parameters for the optimal values of the grid geometry are generated for representative design loadings. These values are shown to be useful for architects and engineers as guidelines for preliminary design. Associated architectural and constructability issues of diagrid structures are also discussed here. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.