Does solitary substance use increase adolescents' risk for poor psychosocial and behavioral outcomes? A 9-year longitudinal study comparing solitary and social users.

This longitudinal study compared Grade 8 solitary cigarette smokers (n = 541), drinkers (n = 577), and marijuana users (n = 148) with adolescents who restricted their use of these substances to social settings (ns = 562, 1,426, and 388, respectively) on adolescent functioning and young adult outcomes. In Grade 8, solitary users held more positive beliefs about the consequences of substance use, earned poorer grades, engaged in more deviant behavior, and devoted less time to school and more time to social activities. By age 23, these solitary users had lower educational attainment, poorer self-rated health, and greater substance use problems. Results indicate the importance of better understanding and addressing the needs of this understudied group of high-risk youth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chemical Defenses Against Fish Predation in Three Brazilian Octocorals: 11β,12β-Epoxypukalide as a Feeding Deterrent in Phyllogorgia dilatata

The feeding-deterrence properties of crude extracts of three Brazilian octocoral species, Neospongodes atlantica Kükenthal (Alcyonacea, Nephtheidae), Plexaurella regia Castro (Gorgonacea, Plexauridae), and Phyllogorgia dilatata Esper (Gorgonacea, Gorgoniidae), were investigated. All the extracts were incorporated into food strips at the concentrations occurring in the living organisms. Crude extract and its ethyl acetate fraction obtained from P. dilatata collected in Armação dos Búzios (Rio de Janeiro State), when incorporated into artificial diets and tested in the habitat of origin, reduced consumption of food strips by fishes, relative to controls. Crude extracts from two octocoral species collected at the National Marine Park of Abrolhos (Bahia State), N. atlantica and P. regia, had no apparent feeding-deterrence properties; in fact, they seemed to stimulate feeding. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the bioactive P. dilatata crude extract revealed that the deterrent property was restricted to a medium polarity fraction. Field palatability experiments with two pure compounds isolated from this fraction revealed that the furanocembranolide 11,12-epoxypukalide is a potent feeding deterrent produced by P. dilatata against fish. Apparently, furanocembranolides are a particular class of compounds with feeding deterrent properties, protecting some octocorals from potential fish predator species in both tropical and temperate environments.     

Challenges and solutions for recruiting pregnant smokers into a nicotine replacement therapy trial.

Improvements in smoking cessation interventions for pregnant smokers are needed. One major step is to examine the potential effectiveness of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). The potential benefits of providing pregnant women with NRT to help them quit smoking are still unknown; early interventions to test the effectiveness and efficacy are vital to advancing the field. This paper describes recruitment efforts for a multiclinic trial to test the effectiveness of NRT use in addition to behavioral therapy in promoting cessation during pregnancy. The biggest challenge is recruiting sufficient numbers of pregnant women. This paper discusses specific obstacles for recruitment and solutions. Knowing the potential pitfalls to recruiting pregnant women into these trials can lead to better studies and thus improved outcomes.     

Attenuation of cocaine-induced locomotor activity by butyrylcholinesterase.

A primary enzyme for the metabolism of cocaine is butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). To determine whether the systemic administration of BChE can increase the metabolism of cocaine sufficiently to alter a behavioral effect, rats were tested in a locomotor activity chamber after receiving 17 mg of cocaine per kg intraperitoneally. In rats pretreated intravenously with 5,000 IU of horse serum-derived BChE, the locomotor activity effect was significantly attenuated. BChE pretreatment increased plasma BChE levels approximately 400-fold. When added to rat plasma, this amount of BChE reduced the cocaine half-life from over 5 hr to less than 5 min. BChE altered the cocaine metabolic pattern such that the relatively nontoxic metabolite ecgonine methyl ester was produced, rather than benzoylecgonine. These results suggest that systemic administration of BChE can increase the metabolism of cocaine sufficiently to alter a behavioral effect of cocaine and thus should be investigated as a potential treatment for cocaine abuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is halo error a property of the rater, ratees, or the specific behaviors observed?

The stability of halo errors when the ratees, the specific behavioral episodes observed, or both varied was studied. In a laboratory study, halo errors were highly unstable when either the ratees or the ratee behaviors varied (average stability coefficients were .20 and .18 when ratee behavior or both ratees and their behavior varied, respectively), but halo errors were moderately stable when the ratees and the specific performance segments viewed were kept constant. In a field study using actual teacher ratings in which the ratee, the ratee's role, or the semester in which ratings were obtained was varied, very low stability coefficients were again found. The results suggest that halo error is not a stable characteristic of the rater or the ratees but rather is partly a characteristic of the unique rating situation. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship formation and relational control as correlates of psychotherapy quality and outcome.

This study examined the nature of therapist–client interactions within and across seven psychotherapy cases (a) to test whether therapeutic outcome is a function of a transition from relational incongruence to relational congruence (S. Strong, 1982), and (b) to investigate the relation of relational congruence and control to qualitative aspects of the therapy relationship and to therapy outcome. Measures of therapist and client response patterning served as indices of relational congruence and of relational control. Relationship quality was assessed in terms of therapist and client ratings of their working alliance and of therapy session depth and smoothness. Outcome was operationalized in terms of symptom reduction. Results showed limited support for a relationship between relational congruence and therapy outcome and suggested that relational control is not a significant factor in client or therapist evaluations of relationship quality or therapy outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

News: Oxygenated fuels undergoing high-level review

Government.     

News: Industry opposition stops release of EPA sediment contamination point source report

Science.     

Role of the syllable in the processing of spoken English: Evidence from a nonword comparison task.

Previous research using monitoring tasks suggests that syllables do not play a role in the initial processing of speech by English listeners. The role of syllables in a different task, 1 involving the speeded comparison of 2 nonwords, was investigated. In 2 experiments, responses to nonword pairs that shared a complete syllable were significantly faster than responses to pairs that shared part of a syllable when the shared unit was at the beginning or in the middle of the nonwords. Results were mixed when the shared unit was at the end of the nonwords, possibly reflecting a confounding effect of rhyme. Findings suggest that syllabified representations of the nonwords may be used in a comparison task, even in English. Results are interpreted relative to different demands of the nonword comparison and monitoring tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The molecular mechanism of membrane proteins probed by evanescent infrared waves

The catalytic action of membrane proteins is vital to many cellular processes. Yet the molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. We describe here the technique of evanescent infrared difference spectroscopy as a tool to decipher the structural changes associated with the enzymatic action of membrane proteins. Functional changes as minute as the protonation state of individual amino acid side chains can be observed and linked to interactions with a ligand, agonist, effector, or redox partner.