The performance of aluminium building products in bushfires

A study of the behaviour of aluminium building products in bushfires was carried out to test the validity of assertions that they perform poorly under bushfire conditions. The work was conducted in two parts: an examination of data from bushfire damage surveys and laboratory experiments in which window assemblies were exposed to radiant heat from a furnace. Data from surveys conducted after major bushfires were augmented with information from a questionnaire related specifically to this work. Analysis of these data did not provide any support for the belief that houses incorporating aluminium building products are at greater risk of being destroyed. The laboratory experiments on both timber- and aluminium-framed windows showed their performance under simulated bushfire conditions to be similar. It was found that bending of glass through distortion of the frames was not a factor in crack initiation.     

Beta-chemokines MCP-1 and RANTES are selectively increased in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with human immunodeficiency virus-associated dementia

OBJECTIVE: To compare the endocrine responses of patients who first received hMG plus FSH, then were treated in a subsequent cycle with FSH alone. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: An academic research environment. PATIENT(S): Ninety-six women with pituitary down-regulation who underwent two sequential IVF treatments, the first with combined hMG and FSH and the second with FSH alone. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Duration of stimulation, serum estradiol level on the day of hCG administration, amount of gonadotropin used, number of oocytes retrieved, number of oocytes fertilized, and selected preembryo morphologic features. RESULT(S): No difference in the mean duration of stimulation was observed between the treatment cycles among patients who received hMG and FSH (11.9 days) followed by FSH alone (11.7 days). The mean number of oocytes retrieved, the mean number of oocytes fertilized, the percentage of preembryo fragmentation, and the preembryo cell number at transfer did not differ significantly between the stimulation protocols. The cumulative amount of gonadotropin used during stimulation was slightly greater in the cycles stimulated with FSH alone, but this difference was not significant (29.4 ampules of hMG plus FSH versus 31.8 ampules of FSH alone). Serum estradiol levels measured on the day of hCG administration during stimulation with hMG and FSH (1,382 pg/mL) were higher than those measured during stimulation with FSH alone (1,149 pg/mL). CONCLUSION(S): Follicular response and preembryo quality were not significantly different when patients were treated first with hMG and FSH and then with FSH alone in a subsequent cycle. Similarities in ovarian response and preembryo characteristics, as well as differences in estradiol patterns seen in each stimulation setting, should be anticipated when patients receive these protocols.     

Effects of amperozide, 8-OH-DPAT, and FG 5974 on operant responding for ethanol

Ventilatory acclimatization to sustained hypoxia (VASH) is the time-dependent increase in ventilation that occurs during prolonged exposure to hypoxia. We tested the hypothesis that carotid body (CB) dopaminergic mechanisms are down-regulated during VASH, which would allow CB afferent discharge and ventilation to increase beyond the initial response to hypoxia. Domperidone (DOM; 1.0 mg.kg-1) was administered intravenously to block CB dopamine (DA) receptors after VASH was complete in awake goats. DOM caused a significant augmentation of the ventilatory response to hypoxia in acclimatized goats, failing to support the hypothesis. We conclude that inhibitory CB dopaminergic function is not significantly reduced following prolonged hypoxia, and that down-regulation of CB dopaminergic mechanisms may not be involved in VASH in the goat.     

The delayed anovulation syndrome: influence of hormones and correlation with behaviour

Experiments were conducted to assess the influence of the ovary and various steroid treatments on the development of the delayed anovulatory syndrome (DAS) in female rats. The influence of neonatally administered androgen on the development of ovarian function and female sexual behaviour was studied. It was found that neither the presence of the ovary nor the administration of oestrogen or androgen affected the time-course of the DAS. Doses of androgen which produced the DAS had little effect on female sexual behaviour and there was no evidence of time-dependent changes in sexual behaviour comparable to the time-dependent changes of ovarian physiology observed during the DAS.     

Low-dose zalcitabine-related toxic neuropathy: frequency, natural history, and risk factors

We studied the features and frequency of sensory neuropathy among 79 HIV-1-infected individuals participating in a multicenter clinical trial of zalcitabine (2'3'-dideoxycytidine, or ddC) antiretroviral therapy. The trial compared zalcitabine monotherapy (2.25 mg/day) versus combination therapy (2.25 mg/day ddC) with zidovudine (ZDV, formerly AZT) versus monotherapy with ZDV alone. Neuropathy developed in 34% of ddC recipients but in only 4% of comparable patients treated with ZDV alone--a 7.9-fold increase in the attack rate of neuropathy. Using risk factor analysis, we found that diabetes mellitus was significantly associated with the development of toxic neuropathy (p = 0.02), and weight loss may contribute to its appearance. Like HIV-associated sensory neuropathy, ddC-related toxic neuropathy is a predominantly sensory, length-dependent, symmetric, painful neuropathy. Dose reduction lessened the severity of symptoms, although objective signs of neuropathy persisted. Patients with subclinical neuropathies or significant neuropathy risks such as diabetes may be poor candidates for ddC therapy.     

"Rorschach and TAT indices of homosexuality in overt homosexuals, neurotics, and normal males": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by Anthony Davids, Mark Joelson, and Charles McArthur (Journal of Abnormal & Social Psychology, 1956[Sept], 53, 161-172). In the section on TAT results, under the heading of Signs suggested for further confirmation (p. 168), it states incorrectly (line 15) that the sign of a strong unresolved attachment to a father or father figure was scored in stories composed for Card 8. The sign was in fact scored in stories composed for TAT Card 7. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1958-02891-001). Rorschach and TAT protocols of 20 male overt homosexuals, 20 male neurotics, and 20 normal male students were compared in order to determine whether proposed homosexual signs were discriminative. The homosexual group gave a significantly greater mean number of the Rorschach and TAT signs than did either nonhomosexual group. "Within the homosexual group, correlation between the number of Rorschach signs and number of TAT signs produced by each S proved significant, serving as a check on the validity of both schemes and indicating the consistency of these 2 diverse measures of homosexuality." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Endocrine studies during the refeeding of young women with nutritional amenorrhea and infertility

Serial endocrine studies were performed during the refeeding of a group of nine young women who presented with amenorrhea associated with injudicious dieting. No significant psychopathology was disclosed by the Lanyon Psychological Screening Inventory in any of the patients, six of whom were single and three married and infertile. The mean weight before refeeding was 81.6% of the normal for height. The mean initial serum follicle-stimulating hormone concentration was within the limits of normal for young women of reproductive age, but the serum luteinizing hormone (LH) concentration and the vaginal maturation score were low. As weight was regained, the serum LH concentration increased (the pooled r for LH versus percent normal weight = 0.85) and the vaginal maturation score rose (the pooled r for vaginal maturation score versus percent normal weight = 0.93). When a mean weight of 96.6% of normal was reached after a mean of 5.3 (range, 2 to 11) months of refeeding, spontaneous menses occurred. The initial cycle was ovulatory in two instances and anovulatory in five, as determined by basal body temperature patterns, plasma progesterone concentrations, and endometrial biopsies. With continued weight gain, menstruation became regular and the three married patients conceived.     

Perceptions of an aggressive encounter as a function of the victim's salience and the perceiver's arousal.

Investigated the effects of a victim's physical salience and perceivers' arousal on perceptions of a verbally aggressive interaction. Based on evidence that there is a tendency to attribute causality to salient stimulus persons and to form more evaluatively extreme impressions of such persons, it was predicted that an aggressor's behavior would be attributed more to causes in a physically salient than a nonsalient victim and that the behavior of a salient victim would be evaluated more extremely than that of a nonsalient victim. Based on J. A. Easterbrook's (1959) hypothesis that arousal narrows the focus of attention to the most salient cues in the situation, it was further predicted that aroused perceivers would manifest both a stronger tendency to attribute causality to a physically salient victim of aggression and more extreme ratings of the stimulus persons than would nonaroused perceivers. Data from 2 studies with 206 undergraduates support all of the experimental hypotheses except one: The tendency to attribute the aggressor's behavior more to a physically salient than a nonsalient victim was not greater for aroused than for nonaroused perceivers. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adulthood age differences in causal attributions for cognitive, physical, and social performance.

42 young (mean age 19.18 yrs) and 39 elderly (mean age 74.90 yrs) men and women made causal attributions for their own or for another person's hypothetical performance in the cognitive, physical, and social domains. When attributions for the same performance by young and elderly adults were compared, the results presented an unflattering view of the elderly, similar to the findings of T. O. Blank (1982) and G. Banziger and J. Drevenstedt (see record 1983-01031-001). In contrast, when attributions for good vs poor performance by the elderly were compared, a more favorable picture emerged: The elderly were more likely to be given credit for their good performance than to be blamed for their poor performance. These findings give reason to question the pervasiveness of the negative view of the elderly that has been presented in previous studies. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)