Scanning Acoustic Microscopy of SCS-6 Silicon Carbide Fiber

Scanning acoustic microscopy of SCS-6 silicon carbide fiber reveals large radial variations in acoustic reflectivity associated with the chemical composition and microstructure of a given fiber region. Rayleigh wave fringe patterns observed in each of five subregions are used to calculate the average Young modulus of that subregion. The Young modulus is found to increase monotonically from 40 GPa in the carbon core to a value of 413 GPa in the stoichiometric SiC region. The effective Young modulus of the fiber as a whole is estimated from the moduli of the individual regions and it is compared with mechanical measurements reported in the literature.     

Multiple perspectives of rejected, neglected, and accepted children: Relation between sociometric status and behavioral characteristics.

Hypothesized, on the basis of findings from several studies, that rejected children are more disruptive, aggressive, and socially inappropriate than are their classmates. Three groups of 39 rejected, 29 neglected, and 39 accepted children were randomly selected from 282 boys and 210 girls who were identified separately on the basis of sociometric scores for 492 children in Grades 3–6. The 3 groups were compared using multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) on measures from 4 domains: peer behavioral attributions, teacher ratings, analog assertiveness task, and self-evaluation. Rejected Ss were clearly distinguished from their same-sex neglected and accepted classmates and were described by teachers and peers as aggressive, disruptive and inattentive. Neglected Ss were only marginally discriminable from same-sex accepted children. Neither neglected nor rejected Ss were differentiated from accepted Ss with respect to observed assertiveness and self-ratings of shyness, unhappiness, and feeling unaccepted. The results replicate previous findings for rejected children. Currently, there is not sufficient justification to consider the group of socially neglected children as a clinical category. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are eating disorders culture-bound syndromes? Implications for conceptualizing their etiology.

The authors explore the extent to which eating disorders, specifically anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN), represent culture-bound syndromes and discuss implications for conceptualizing the role genes play in their etiology. The examination is divided into 3 sections: a quantitative meta-analysis of changes in incidence rates since the formal recognition of AN and BN, a qualitative summary of historical evidence of eating disorders before their formal recognition, and an evaluation of the presence of these disorders in non-Western cultures. Findings suggest that BN is a culture-bound syndrome and AN is not. Thus, heritability estimates for BN may show greater variability cross-culturally than heritability estimates for AN, and the genetic bases of these disorders may be associated with differential pathoplasticity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral Phenotype of the Reeler Mutant Mouse: Effects of Reln Gene Dosage and Social Isolation.

Reeler (rl/rl) and reeler/wild-type (+/rl) mice synthesize Reln at subnormal rates, as do patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism, thereby forming the basis for a Reln hypothesis for vulnerability to these psychopathologies and justifying attention to the behavioral phenotypes of Reln-deficient mice. Tests of gait, emotionality, social aggression, spatial working memory, novel-object detection, fear conditioning, and sensorimotor reflex modulation revealed the behavioral phenotype of rl/rl, but not +/rl, mice to be different from that of wild-type (+/+) mice. These results reveal no effect of Reln gene dosage and provide significant challenges to both the Reln and the neurodevelopmental hypotheses of the etiology of major psychopathologies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality traits are linked to crime among men and women: Evidence from a birth cohort.

Is there a relationship between personality and criminal behavior? We addressed this question in a representative birth cohort of 862 male and female 18-yr-olds. Personality was assessed with the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ). The MPQ measures 10 relatively independent personality traits and was not designed to identify offenders. Delinquency was assessed via 3 data sources: self-reports, informant reports, and official records. Variable-centered analyses revealed that MPQ scales indexing negative emotionality and behavioral constraint were consistent predictors of delinquency across the 3 data sources. Person-centered analyses revealed that youths abstaining from delinquency were uniquely characterized by low interpersonal potency. Youths involved in extensive delinquency were uniquely characterized by feelings of alienation, lack of social closeness and risk taking. Advances in understanding criminal behavior can be made through research that places the personality-delinquency link in a developmental context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)