"Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory: Self-esteem differences in the experience and anticipation of success": Correction to Wood et al (2005).

Reports an error in "Snatching Defeat From the Jaws of Victory: Self-Esteem Differences in the Experience and Anticipation of Success" by Joanne V. Wood, Sara A. Heimpel, Ian R. Newby-Clark and Michael Ross (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2005[Nov], Vol 89[5], 764-780). There are typographical errors in Table 2 (certain values should not have been in bold face). The corrected table is provided in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2005-15658-009.) Successes--defined broadly as meeting important standards or receiving positive evaluations--are widely assumed to be enjoyed equally by people with high self-esteem (HSEs) and low self-esteem (LSEs). Three studies examined the contradictory hypothesis that HSEs react more favorably to success than do LSEs and that success brings about certain unfavorable consequences for LSEs. Undergraduate participants reacted to a laboratory-manipulated success (Studies 1 and 2) or imagined highly positive events in the future (Study 3). Self-esteem differences emerged in anxiety, thoughts about the self, and (in Study 3) thoughts about non-self-related aspects of the event. LSEs were more anxious than HSEs after succeeding, success improved HSEs' self-relevant thoughts but not LSEs', and LSEs focused more on success's negative aspects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A versatile facility for laboratory studies of viscoelastic and poroelastic behaviour of rocks

Novel laboratory equipment has been modified to allow both torsional and flexural oscillation measurements at sub-microstrain amplitudes, thereby providing seismic-frequency constraints on both the shear and compressional wave properties of cylindrical rock specimens within the linear regime. The new flexural mode capability has been tested on experimental assemblies containing fused silica control specimens. Close consistency between the experimental data and the results of numerical modelling with both finite-difference and finite-element methods demonstrates the viability of the new technique. The capability to perform such measurements under conditions of independently controlled confining and pore-fluid pressure, with emerging strategies for distinguishing between local (squirt) and global (specimen-wide) fluid flow, will have particular application to the study of frequency-dependent seismic properties expected of cracked and fluid-saturated rocks of the Earth's upper crust.     

Reaching-to-eat in humans post-stroke: Fluctuating components within a constant pattern.

Reaching movements of the arm and hand become automatic early in development and are used throughout one's life span. Studies on skilled reaching have focused on the kinematic aspects and have advanced our knowledge of the individual motor components of reaching. It has also been shown that motor behaviors are organized in terms of ethologically relevant actions, rather than by motor components. Thus, it is important to analyze how the motor components of reaching are performed within the overall action as a whole. The objective of the present study was to examine the motor components of reaching-to-eat within the context of the overall behavior in stroke participants. Results show that reaching-to-eat involves the whole body to produce isolated actions of the limb and changes after stroke in three fundamental ways: abnormal use of nonkinematic aspects of movement, body-limb disintegration, and a disruption in the temporal aspect of the phases of reaching-to-eat. The movements within the behavior can reorganize, possibly a reflection of dynamic interactions between behavioral compensation and neuroplasticity, while the overall performance of the behavior remains the same. Such subtle flexibility may be part of the process of recovery. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Weighted‐average isostrain and isostress model to describe the kinetic evolution of the mechanical properties of a composite gel: Application to the system gelatin:Maltodextrin

Application of a weighted‐average model (WAM) to the kinetic evolution of the elasticity during 16 h was successfully performed for a composite gel in which a maltodextrin phase is dispersed within a continuous gelatin phase. The results obtained using the model for different starting compositions along an initial higher‐temperature binodal are in good agreement with the phase diagram measured at high temperature and help to confirm the position of the binodal. A novel application of confocal Raman microscopy was used to measure the local concentration of the included phase of the composite gel and confirms the results given by the WAM. This model allows calculation of tie lines appropriate to the gel state and could be used for other biopolymer blends if the assumption is made that the gelation process involves a complete phase separation of both polymers before any gelation occurs. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 77: 1465–1477, 2000     

Cholesterol interference in analysis of fatty acid methyl esters

In the course of isolating and analyzing the fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) from steelhead trout (Salmo gairdneri) eggs and sac fry, a component was found on gas liquid chromatography to have a retention time longer than any characteristic polyunsaturated fatty acid previously encountered in trout. Subsequent purification and analysis demonstrated this component to be cholesterol. Thus, cholesterol and related compounds can interfere in the analysis of FAME when the methyl esters are prepared by transesterification.     

Azide Reactive Dyes

Reactive dyes containing a sulphonylazide group can undergo fixation on nylon substrates by two different mechanisms. Under aqueous dyeing conditions, at or below 120d? C, the free amino end-groups of the polymer attack the sulphonylazide group with displacement of azide ion, and results in attachment of the dye to the substrate by a sulphonamide linkage. In contrast, if the dyed substrate is subjected to dry heat fixation at 170d? C, the azide group decomposes to a sulphonylnitrene species which undergoes insertion into C-H bonds of the polymer. The dye is again attached by a sulphonamide bridge, but in this case the amount of dye that can be fixed is independent of the amino end-group content of the polymer.     

A study of the polymerization behaviour of N-(4-phenoxy)-phenylmaleimide using DSC analysis

Summary The thermal cure of a monofunctional maleimide N-(4-phenoxy)-phenylmaleimid (1) was examined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The analogous bis-maleimide bis-(4-maleimidophenyl)ether (2) was also analyzed in the same manner for comparison. Polymerization kinetics derived from scanning DSC measurements showed an order of reaction varying between n=1 and 2 for (1), compared to an order of reaction between n=2 and 3 (by multiple linear regression analysis) for (2). The overall enthalpy of polymerization (H_o) for N-(4-phenoxy)-phenylmaleimide (94kJ/mole) agrees well with that obtained for maleimide itself (89kJ/mole) using conventional calorimetric techniques indicating that polymerization appears complete within the timescale of the experiment. In contrast the analogous BMI displays a markedly lower overall polymerization enthalpy (ca. 66kJ/mole) indicating an apparent conversion of only 37%.     

Obesity in children – facts and fallacies

Obesity is now recognised as the most prevalent nutritional disorder affecting children. Prevalence rates across Europe have increased sharply in the past decade and the consequences of this are increasingly clear with type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidaemia and hypertension now affecting children in growing numbers. The causes of this modern epidemic are many and involve complex genetic and environmental factors and the traditional view of obesity as a product of laziness and greed is increasingly being challenged. Whatever the causes, prevention and treatment need to be considered with urgency. While personal and parental responsibility remain crucial, it also falls to government to help control powerful environmental pressures which are leading our children into premature ill‐health and mortality. Equally health professionals are increasingly recognising that they have a significant role to play in delivering medical treatment of obesity in children. Successful treatment requires a greater understanding of obesity, causes, and consequences, and of the particular style of approach that is required for children, and their families. The role of weight loss medication remains unclear, but is being examined seriously, such is the need for effective treatment strategies to minimise the incidence and severity of co‐morbid disease. Inaction at any level can no longer be considered a viable option.