A comparison of measures of expressed and inventoried vocational interests among counseling center clients.

Compared the responses of 50 female and 50 male counseling center clients (18–36 yrs old) to the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) and the Vocational Card Sort (VCS). The 2 sets of Holland themes, using 3-point codes, were moderately related. Although the 5 highest basic interests of the 2 measures were rather strongly related, the relationships between the 5 highest occupational scales were less clearly related. It was also found that for females, the 5 highest VCS occupations were less sexually stereotyped than the comparable SCII scales. No differences were found for males. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The science game: An introduction to research in the behavioral and social sciences, seventh edition.

Reviews the book, The science game: An introduction to research in the behavioral and social sciences, seventh edition by Neil McKinnon Agnew and Sandra W. Pyke (2007). In 1969, Neil Agnew and Sandra Pyke published the first edition of The Science Game, a 182-page survey of the major components of what they call the game of "sciencing," a game, they claim, that "like all other games of consequence, is a mixture of art, enterprise, and invention held loosely together by man-made rules." Using the same quirky but engaging style as in the original, in the seventh and latest edition, Agnew and Pyke dedicate a full 471 pages to the task, tackling a host of topics bearing on the activities of science, ranging from the strengths and weaknesses of humans' cognitive capacity for problem solving to debates in the philosophy of science regarding the nature of knowledge. Although this most recent edition elaborates on many of the same themes presented in earlier versions, it is much grander in scope and includes a number of new features, including the introduction of a central theme and memory aid throughout the book (i.e., a puzzle-solving theme), the inclusion of statements of chapter goals, and chapter-end summaries and self-test quizzes. The Science Game provides a fairly comprehensive set of "sound bites" pertaining to the techniques, procedures, and conventions adopted by social science researchers and is accessible to either students encountering these topics for the first time or more advanced students in need of a refresher. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A case-control study of percutaneous nephrolithotomy versus extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy

We have studied the effect of ectopic overexpression of a ras gene on the expression of the other two members of the ras gene family. We obtained NIH3T3 cell lines stably transfected with inducible H-ras and N-ras oncogenes. The expression of these genes is driven by a glucocorticoid-responsive promoter and the addition of dexamethasone resulted in a dramatic induction (10-20-fold) of H- or N-ras mRNA, peaking 4 h after hormone addition. The induction of the expression of ras oncogenes resulted in a transformed phenotype. In quiescent NIH3T3 cells transfected with inducible H-ras oncogenes, the induction of H-Ras was followed 12 h later by a 3-fold increase in the mRNA expression of endogenous K-ras and N-ras. Similarly, in NIH3T3 transfected with inducible N-ras oncogene, the induction of N-ras was followed by an increase in the expression of endogenous K- and H-ras genes. Interestingly, the effect was not limited to the mutated N-ras, as a similar result was obtained in cells transfected with N-ras proto-oncogene. The induction of ras genes expression was not linked to cell cycle progression as it was reproduced in cells arrested in S-phase by pretreatment with hydroxyurea. These results suggest the presence of a positive cross-regulation in the expression among the members of the Ras family. This effect could play a role in Ras-mediated carcinogenesis.     

Institutional effects on the psychosocial development of African-American college students.

This study examined the widely reported contention that the social and intellectual development of African-American college students is nurtured better by traditionally Black collegiate institutions (TBIs) than by predominantly White collegiate institutions (PWIs). It was hypothesized that if the reported environmental effects exist, then students at TBIs ought to be more developmentally advanced than their counterparts at PWIs. Three areas of psychosocial development were examined for 250 African-American students attending the 2 types of institutions in the same northeastern state. The Racial Identity Attitude Scale (T. A. Parham and J. E. Helms; see record 1981-21936-001), the Student Development Task Inventory, and the Career Decision Scale were used. The results did not provide clear support for the superiority of the TBIs in facilitating the development of African-American college students. Results and implications for counseling and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Push-pull perfusion sampling with segmented flow for high temporal and spatial resolution in vivo chemical monitoring

Low-flow push-pull perfusion is a sampling method that yields better spatial resolution than competitive methods like microdialysis. Because of the low flow rates used (50 nL/min), it is challenging to use this technique at high temporal resolution which requires methods of collecting, manipulating, and analyzing nanoliter samples. High temporal resolution also requires control of Taylor dispersion during sampling. To meet these challenges, push-pull perfusion was coupled with segmented flow to achieve in vivo sampling at 7 s temporal resolution at 50 nL/min flow rates. By further miniaturizing the probe inlet, sampling with 200 ms resolution at 30 nL/min (pull only) was demonstrated in vitro. Using this method, L-glutamate was monitored in the striatum of anesthetized rats. Up to 500 samples of 6 nL each were collected at 7 s intervals, segmented by an immiscible oil and stored in a capillary tube. The samples were assayed offline for L-glutamate at a rate of 15 samples/min by pumping them into a reagent addition tee fabricated from Teflon where reagents were added for a fluorescent enzyme assay. Fluorescence of the resulting plugs was monitored downstream. Microinjection of 70 mM potassium in physiological buffered saline evoked l-glutamate concentration transients that had an average maxima of 4.5 ± 1.1 μM (n = 6 animals, 3-4 injections each) and rise times of 22 ± 2 s. These results demonstrate that low-flow push-pull perfusion with segmented flow can be used for high temporal resolution chemical monitoring and in complex biological environments.     

Cultural validity of the Almost Perfect Scale--Revised for African American college students.

This study investigated the cross-cultural construct validity of perfectionism using the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APS-R; R. B. Slaney, M. Mobley, J. Trippi, J. S. Ashby, & D. G. Johnson, 1996) with 251 African American college students. A LISREL confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) offered support for the 3 subscales of the APS-R: High Standards, Order, and Discrepancy. Multigroup CFA results for a sample of 314 White college students supported factorial equivalence across the 2 cultural groups. Correlations between the subscales of the APS-R and measures of self-esteem, self-reported grade point average (GPA), satisfaction with GPA, trait anxiety, and depression were consistent with the results of previous research. A cluster analysis was performed on the APS-R; the cluster results were similar to those found in previous studies. Finally, the limitations of the present study and the implications for future research with African Americans are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)