Outcomes of time-limited psychotherapy in applied settings: Replicating the Second Sheffield Psychotherapy Project.

In a replication and extension of the Second Sheffield Psychotherapy Project (SPP2), a collaborative psychotherapy project (CPP) was carried out at 3 sites within the National Health Service of the United Kingdom. Clients (N?=?36) stratified at 3 levels of severity of depression were randomly assigned to one of 2 treatment approaches (psychodynamic-interpersonal or cognitive-behavioral) of 2 time-limited durations (8 or 16 sessions). Gains in both treatment approaches were approximately equivalent and were similar for CPP and SPP2 clients when measured at the end of treatment. However, CPP clients did not maintain their gains to the extent that the SPP2 clients did at 3-month and 1-year follow-up assessments. In the CPP, clients given 16 sessions showed a statistically significant advantage over clients given 8 sessions on some measures at some assessments; in the SPP2, similar effects were noted only among some subgroups of clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal processes on psychological radio call-in programs: Comparisons with other help-intended interactions.

We describe the verbal process of program hosts and callers during call-in psychology interviews; we measured the similarity of these interactions with other help-intended interactions, and we assessed the compatibility of hosts' verbal behavior with prescribed ethical guidelines. Radio interviews with 30 callers were recorded from each of 6 programs broadcast in major American cities. Hosts' and callers' verbal response modes (VRMs) were coded and compared with the VRMs used in psychotherapy, university settings, and medical interviews. Hosts' VRMs most resembled those of rational-emotive therapists and those of physicians in the conclusion segment of medical interviews. Callers' VRMs most resembled those of clients in cognitive-behavioral therapy. The results call into question the viability of the distinctions made in current ethical guidelines governing psychologists' behavior on such programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

REUSE AND REPURPOSING OF CONTENT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE INTRODUCTION AND EMBEDDING OF eLEARNING

This paper describes the work and findings of the JISC SURF X4L project on examining the place of the reuse and repurposing of content for eLearning in the context of the introduction and embedding of eLearning in institutions. The project, which ran for two and half years, looked closely at issues of culture change, pedagogy and educational and organisational processes. The paper covers the experiences of two different colleges, that are members of the same university-led consortium, over the life of the project and describes the lessons learned and good practice identified.     

Superconducting energy gap in semiconducting GeTe

Tunneling measurements were made on thin films (700–1400 Å) of GeTe to determine the dependence of the superconducting energy gap on carrier concentration. Temperatures as low as 25 mK were used and perpendicular magnetic fields were applied to measure the critical fields. The energy gap was found to vary from 30 to 42 µeV for carrier concentrations from 1.5 to 2.4 × 10²¹ / cm³.Supported in part by the National Science Foundation through the Materials Sciences Program at Brown University and through Grant GH 36618.     

Detection of diurnal cycle of ocean surface wind from space-based observations

We derive the diurnal cycle of ocean surface vector wind from three contemporary space-based wind sensors: OSCAT, WindSAT, and ASCAT, assuming the diurnal signal is embedded in the deviation from the daily mean as measured by ascending and descending passes of each sensor. A Monte Carlo simulation technique is used to estimate uncertainties. Strong diurnal signals are found in coastal regions and tropical oceans. Their geographical and seasonal variations are described.     

Electromagnetic scattering from grassland. II. Measurement andmodeling results

For pt.I see ibid., vol.38, no.1, p.339-48 (2000). The validity of a coherent, grassland scattering model is determined by comparing the model predictions with direct measurements of a representative grass canopy. A wheat field was selected as the test target, and polarimetric, multifrequency backscattering data were collected over an entire growing season, along with a complete set of ground-truth data. The L-band measured data demonstrated a strong dependence on azimuthal look direction in relation to the row direction of the wheat. The C-band measurements likewise showed an interesting backscattering response, wherein σ_νν⁰ actually increased with incidence angle for many cases. The coherent scattering model provides backscattering data that match and predict these measured data and most of the other measured data well. The model shows that at L-band, the incoherent scattering power alone is insufficient for predicting the measured results, as the coherent terms can dominate the total scattered energy. Additionally, the model, which accounts for this nonuniform illumination of the wheat elements, demonstrates the peculiar data observed for C-band. Likewise, it is demonstrated that the fidelity used to model grass constituents (e.g., curvature) is required to match the scattering measurements accurately     

Microarray studies on the genes responsive to the addition of spermidine or spermine to a Saccharomyces cerevisiae spermidine synthase mutant

The naturally occurring polyamines putrescine, spermidine or spermine are ubiquitous in all cells. Although polyamines have prominent regulatory roles in cell division and growth, precise molecular and cellular functions are not well‐established in vivo. In this work we have performed microarray experiments with a spermidine synthase, spermine oxidase mutant (Δspe3 Δfms1) strain to investigate the responsiveness of yeast genes to supplementation with spermidine or spermine. Expression analysis identified genes responsive to the addition of either excess spermidine (10^?5 M ) or spermine (10^?5 M ) compared to a control culture containing 10^?8 M spermidine. 247 genes were upregulated > two‐fold and 11 genes were upregulated >10‐fold after spermidine addition. Functional categorization of the genes showed induction of transport‐related genes and genes involved in methionine, arginine, lysine, NAD and biotin biosynthesis. 268 genes were downregulated more than two‐fold, and six genes were downregulated > eight‐fold after spermidine addition. A majority of the downregulated genes are involved in nucleic acid metabolism and various stress responses. In contrast, only a few genes (18) were significantly responsive to spermine. Thus, results from global gene expression profiling demonstrate a more major role for spermidine in modulating gene expression in yeast than spermine. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.