Inventory of interpersonal problems: Psychometric properties and clinical applications.

Describes a new instrument, the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP), which measures distress arising from interpersonal sources. The IIP meets the need for an easily administered self-report inventory that describes the types of interpersonal problems that people experience and the level of distress associated with them before, during, and after psychotherapy. In Study 1, psychometric data are presented for 103 patients who were tested at the beginning and end of a waiting period before they began brief dynamic psychotherapy. On both occasions, a factor analysis yielded the same six subscales; these scales showed high internal consistency and high test–retest reliability. Study 2 demonstrated the instrument's sensitivity to clinical change. In this study, a subset of patients was tested before, during, and after 20 sessions of psychotherapy. Their improvement on the IIP agreed well with all other measures of their improvement, including those generated by the therapist and by an independent evaluator. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The lepidopteran transposon vector, piggyBac, mediates germ-line transformation in the Mediterranean fruit fly

The piggyBac (IFP2) short inverted terminal repeat transposable element from the cabbage looper Trichoplusia ni was tested for gene transfer vector function as part of a bipartite vector-helper system in the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata. A piggyBac vector marked with the medfly white gene was tested with a normally regulated piggyBac transposase helper at two different concentrations in a white eye host strain. Both experiments yielded transformants at an approximate frequency of 3-5%, with a total of six lines isolated having pigmented eyes with various levels of coloration. G1 transformant siblings from each line shared at least one common integration, with several sublines having an additional second integration. For the first transformant line isolated, two integrations were determined to be stable for 15 generations. For five of the lines, a piggyBac-mediated transposition was verified by sequencing the insertion site junctions isolated by inverse PCR that identified a characteristic piggyBac TTAA target site duplication. The efficient and stable transformation of the medfly with a lepidopteran vector represents transposon function over a relatively large evolutionary distance and suggests that the piggyBac system will be functional in a broad range of insects.     

The effect of anticipatory strategies on the first day of smoking cessation.

The authors tested a model hypothesizing the predictors and the effects of anticipatory strategy use on the 1st day of smoking cessation using data from 63 participants in an ecological momentary assessment study of smoking cessation. Remaining abstinent on the 1st day of cessation was not associated with mean level of urges to smoke during tempting situations but was associated with anticipatory strategy use, which accounted for 18% of the variance. Getting rid of cigarettes contributed the most to this effect (β?=?-.397). Getting rid of cigarettes was itself predicted by 2 variables, lower nicotine dependence (β?=?-.264) and attending a formal smoking cessation class (β?=?.305), which accounted for 15% of its variance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reactivity to ecological momentary assessment: An example using undergraduate problem drinkers.

A. A. Stone and S. Shiffman (1994) defined ecological momentary assessment (EMA) as monitoring or sampling strategies that assess phenomena at the moment they occur in natural settings, thus maximi7ing ecological validity while avoiding retrospective recall. To address the extent to which EMA affects the behavior and cognitions under observation, the authors examined behavioral and motivational reactivity to EMA among male and female undergraduate problem drinkers (n = 33). Participants completed a 2-week monitoring protocol using palmtop computers as well as pre- and postmonitoring measures of their drinking behavior and motivation for change. The findings suggest that the magnitude of reactivity to EMA is small. Suggestions for future research Are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Microstructures and mechanical properties of boride-dispersed precipitation-hardening stainless steels produced by RST

Two commercial precipitation-hardening (PH) stainless steels were modified with 2.64 to 2.86 wt% Ti and 1.2 to 1.3 wt% B via rapid solidification technology (RST) and powder metallurgy (PM). The resulting alloys exhibited improved tensile and yield strengths over their commercial PH stainless steel counterparts at room and elevated temperatures. Ductility improvements at elevated temperatures were also observed. The improved mechanical properties were due to extremely fine microstructures stabilized by a fine dispersion of boride phases.     

On the "general acceptance" of eyewitness testimony research: A new survey of the experts.

In light of recent advances, this study updated a prior survey of eyewitness experts (S. M. Kassin, P. C. Ellsworth, & V. L. Smith, 1989). Sixty-four psychologists were asked about their courtroom experiences and opinions on 30 eyewitness phenomena. By an agreement rate of at least 80%, there was a strong consensus that the following phenomena are sufficiently reliable to present in court: the wording of questions, lineup instructions, confidence malleability, mug-shot-induced bias, postevent information, child witness suggestibility, attitudes and expectations, hypnotic suggestibility, alcoholic intoxication, the cross-race bias, weapon focus, the accuracy–confidence correlation, the forgetting curve, exposure time, presentation format, and unconscious transference. Results also indicate that these experts set high standards before agreeing to testify. Despite limitations, these results should help to shape expert testimony so that it more accurately represents opinions in the scientific community. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)