Word frequency and the measurement of value areas.

"Six forms of a value-area test were constructed after the general pattern of the Allport-Vernon to test the Solomon-Howes hypothesis that Allport-Vernon scores could be explained as a function of the log frequency of the answer choices. Each form favored frequency-wise one of the six Spranger value areas. One hundred twentyone women… were tested in six groups; each group received one form of our test and the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey test… . The test of the Solomon-Howes frequency hypothesis failed to show consistent changes in scores on the given value area favored for each group… ." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transthoracic Ventricular Defibrillation in the Dog with Truncated and Untruncated Exponential Stimuli

From 10 560 transthoracic fibrillation-defibrillation episodes in large anesthetized dogs, the effectiveness of 88 types of untruncated and truncated exponential waveforms in reversing ventricular fibrillation was evaluated. The study involved waveforms which could be generated with stored energy levels (in the simple capacitor-switch sense) of 60, 90, 120, and 180 J and initial current levels of 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, and 100 A. The 10-A waveforms were untruncated or truncated at final current values of 5, 7.5, and 9 A. The 20-, 30-, and 40-A waveforms were untruncated or truncated at 5, 10, and 15 A. The 60-, 80-, and l00-A waveforms were untruncated or truncated at the 15-A level.     

Genetic variability of human plasma and erythrocyte lipids

Genetic variation of fasting plasma lipids, lipoproteins and erythrocyte membrane lipids was studied in 67 sets of like-sexed twins and 3 sets of triplets. All of the plasma lipids were more variable in dizygotic twins than monozygotic twins with the exception of phosphatidyl ethanolamine, but only cholesteryl esters, lecithin, phosphatidyl inositol and β-lipoprotein showed significant genetic variation. In contrast, no significant genetic variability was found in any of the erythrocyte membrane lipids and erythrocyte phosphatidyl ethanolamine had significantly greater variation in monozygotic twins. Two sets of twins had an extra lipoprotein band (slow α1); in one family the variant appeared to be segregating as a dominant trait. Presented in part at the ISF-AOCS World Congress, Chicago, September 1970.     

A comparison of error in five sorting procedures for ordinal ranking.

The effect or sorting procedures on ranking error was investigated. Different groups of Ss ranked a series of 50 stimulus cards using 5 different sorting methods. Significant differences in ranking errors among the 5 methods were observed, with a "free" procedure showing less error than "structured" procedures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment: Use of Electronic Computers in Psychological Research.

Comments that on the Leavitt, Stone, and Wrigley discussion (October, 1954 American Psychologist) of the possibilities of a Psychological Electronic Computer (Psycheac) which, would be useful to APA members. The idea proposed by these authors is an excellent one, and efforts should be made to carry out some of their suggestions to "reduce routine computational drudgery." He presents an analysis in an effort to provide one example of the value and efficiency of an electronic computer in analyses of psychological data. An article by Meer, Stein, and Geertsma (January 1955, American Psychologist) is concerned with an analysis of the interrelationships among the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) and Wechsler-Bellevue (W-B) subtests. Their data is used in example. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Node-link mapping: A visual representation strategy for enhancing drug abuse counseling.

Taught a multipurpose visual representation strategy, node-link mapping, to randomly selected counselors in 3 methadone maintenance (MM) drug treatment programs. Counselors were trained to use mapping in their individual and group sessions as a communication, thinking, and memory aid. MM clients were randomly assigned to either mapping counselors or standard counselors (i.e., ones who did not receive mapping training). In Study 1, there were statistically significant differences in favor of mapping during the 1st 3 mo of treatment for measures of client commitment to counseling and counselor perceptions of the client (e.g., motivation). In Study 2, the results based on clients at more advanced stages of treatment were more limited, but the pattern of mean differences was similar to that of Study 1. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meeting the Software Challenge: A Model for is Transformation

As economic and technological trends create spiraling demand for software resources, IS managers must increasingly weigh the risks of new technology against the costs of falling behind. in this environment, successful management of the IS organization depends less on the transfer of technological implements than on adopting the characteristics of a learning organization: a mature process, a culture supportive of continuous change, and effective management.     

The transmembrane domains of Sindbis virus envelope glycoproteins induce cell death

Sindbis virus, the prototype alphavirus, kills cells by inducing apoptosis. To investigate potential mechanisms by which Sindbis virus induces apoptosis, we examined whether specific viral gene products were able to induce cell death. Genes encoding the three structural proteins--capsid, the precursor E1 (6K plus E1), and the precursor E2 (P62 or E3 plus E2)--were cotransfected with a beta-galactosidase reporter plasmid in transient-transfection assays in rat prostate adenocarcinoma AT3 cells. Cell death, as determined by measuring the loss of blue cells, was observed in AT3 cells transfected with 6K plus E1 and with P62 but not in cells transfected with capsid. Deletion mutagenesis of P62 indicated that large regions of the cytoplasmic domain and extracellular domain were not essential for the induction of cell death. However, constructs containing the minimal E3 signal sequence fused to the E2 transmembrane domain and the minimal E3 signal sequence fused to the E1 transmembrane domain induced death as efficiently as full-length P62 and 6K plus E1, whereas no cell death was observed after transfection with a control construct containing the E3 signal sequence linked to the transmembrane domain of murine CD4. These data demonstrate that intracellular expression of the transmembrane domains of the Sindbis virus envelope glycoproteins can kill AT3 cells.     

Stimulation and antagonism of opioid !d-receptors produce opposite effects on active avoidance conditioning in mice.

The effects of opioid δ-receptor activation on conditioning in a one-way active avoidance paradigm were investigated in mice. Peripheral administration of 30 and 100 μg/kg of [Leu–5] enkephalin (LE) and 11.6 μg/kg of [D-Pen–2,D-Pen–5]enkephalin ({dpdpe}), a synthetic enkephalin analog with high δ-selectivity, impaired acquisition of avoidance responding. The dose response functions for both peptides were U-shaped. Deficits in responding were also present 24 hours after training, which suggests that the impaired performance observed during training was not an impairment in the ability of the mice to perform. Also, neither LE nor {dpdpe} decreased footshock sensitivity or open-field activity, which rules out analgesia and decreased activity levels as likely explanations for the deficits in conditioning. Finally, antagonizing endogenous ligands with the δ-selective antagonist ICI 154,129 enhanced acquisition, an effect opposite that produced by LE and {dpdpe}. The results suggest that activation of δ-receptors is normally involved in the modulation of active avoidance learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)