Tuning in to psychological change: Linguistic markers of psychological traits and emotions over time in popular U.S. song lyrics.

American culture is filled with cultural products. Yet few studies have investigated how changes in cultural products correspond to changes in psychological traits and emotions. The current research fills this gap by testing the hypothesis that one cultural product—word use in popular song lyrics—changes over time in harmony with cultural changes in individualistic traits. Linguistic analyses of the most popular songs from 1980–2007 demonstrated changes in word use that mirror psychological change. Over time, use of words related to self-focus and antisocial behavior increased, whereas words related to other-focus, social interactions, and positive emotion decreased. These findings offer novel evidence regarding the need to investigate how changes in the tangible artifacts of the sociocultural environment can provide a window into understanding cultural changes in psychological processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Novel Nanoparticle‐Based Disposable Electrochemical Immunosensor for Diagnosis of Exposure to Toxic Organophosphorus Agents

A novel disposable electrochemical immunosensor for highly selective and sensitive detection of organophosphorylated butyrylcholinesterase (OP‐BChE), a specific biomarker for exposure to toxic organophosphorus agents, is presented. In this new approach, zirconia nanoparticles (ZrO₂) were employed to selectively capture the OP moiety of OP‐BChE adducts, followed by quantum dot (QD)‐tagged anti‐BChE antibodies for amplified quantification. The captured CdSe‐QD tags can be sensitively detected by stripping voltammetry using an in situ bismuth‐plating method. The OP agent, diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP), was selected to prepare OP‐BChE adducts in various matrices. The formation of OP‐BChE adducts in plasma sample was confirmed using mass spectroscopy. The developed electrochemical immunosensor demonstrates a highly linear voltammetric response over the range of 0.1 to 30 nM OP‐BChE, with a detection limit of 0.03 nM (based on signal/noise = 3), coupled with a good reproducibility (relative standard deviation 4.5%). Moreover, the immunosensor has been validated with biomonitoring of OP‐BChE adducts in the plasma samples. This novel nanoparticle‐based electrochemical immunosensor thus provides an alternative way for designing a sensitive and cost‐effective sensing platform for on‐site screening/evaluating exposure to a variety of OP agents.     

Comparing true and false confessions among persons with serious mental illness.

Over the past decade, knowledge on false confessions has grown tremendously. However, a similar knowledge base on true confessions has not. In the present study, independent, self-reported true and false confession experiences of persons with serious mental illness were compared. In addition to examining the crimes and police questioning that led to the true or false confession, we investigated the reasons behind the confessions and the eventual case outcomes. We found that, in comparison to true confessors (n = 30), false confessors (n = 35) were questioned more times, took longer to confess, perceived the evidence against them to be weaker, and reported significantly more external pressure and less internal pressure. Moreover, of those participants who were convicted, false confessors were four times more likely to receive a prison sentence than true confessors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sub-Compartmental Organization of Golgi-Resident N-Glycan Processing Enzymes in Plants

In all eukaryotes, the Golgi apparatus is the main site of protein glycosylation. It is widely     

Absence of a self-induced decay effect in Au

We report the results of an improved experiment aimed at determining whether the half-life (T_1/2) of ¹⁹⁸Au depends on the shape of the source. In this experiment, the half-lives of a gold sphere and a thin gold wire were measured after each had been irradiated in the NIST Center for Neutron Research. In comparison to an earlier version of this experiment, both the specific activities of the samples and their relative surface/volume ratios have been increased, leading to an improved test for the hypothesized self-induced decay (SID) effect. We find T_1/2(sphere)/T_1/2(wire)=(0.9993±0.0002), which is compatible with no SID effect.