On the cover.

Discusses the cover art for this issue of American Psychologist. Portions of the article are based on an interview with the artist, Melissa Miller, on November 6, 2006. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is incarceration during pregnancy associated with infant birthweight?

To address the hypothesis that tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha has a role in obesity-associated insulin resistance or the regulation of in vivo lipid metabolism, mice with targeted disruption of the TNF-alpha gene were generated and studied. The absence of TNF-alpha protein in TNF-null (-/-) mice was confirmed. Lean or obese (gold-thioglucose [GTG]-injected) homozygous (-/-) mice were compared with lean or obese age- and sex-matched wild-type (+/+) mice derived from the same line at 13, 19, and 28 weeks of age. The following parameters were significantly affected in lean -/- versus +/+ mice: Body weight was not affected until week 28 (decreased by 14%); epididymal fat pad weight also decreased (25%) at this time, as did percentage body fat (16%), while percentage body protein was increased 13%. Fed plasma insulin levels decreased 47% (28 weeks), triglyceride levels decreased (all three ages; maximum 35% at 19 weeks), and fed plasma leptin decreased 33% (28 weeks). Fasting glucose was slightly (10%) reduced, but the glucose response to an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was not affected. There was a trend (NS) toward increased total adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase in -/- versus +/+ mice. GTG-treatment resulted in obese -/- and +/+ mice with equal mean body weights (42 and 58% increased weight versus lean mice). The following parameters were significantly different in obese -/- mice: fasting plasma glucose decreased 13% (28 weeks), fed plasma insulin decreased 67% (28 weeks), and insulin response to OGTT was decreased by 50%. For both groups of obese mice, glucose levels during the OGTT were substantially increased compared with those in lean mice; however, mean stimulated glucose levels were 20% lower in obese -/- versus +/+ mice. We conclude 1) that TNF-alpha functions to regulate plasma triglycerides and body adiposity and 2) that although TNF-alpha contributes to reduced insulin sensitivity in older or obese mice, the absence of TNF-alpha is not sufficient to substantially protect against insulin resistance in the GTG hyperphagic model of rodent obesity.     

Global self-ratings of health and mortality: hazard in the North Carolina Piedmont

We analyzed the first 5 years of surveillance data from the Established Population for the Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) in the Piedmont of North Carolina (n = 4162) to estimate the effect of a global self-rating of health on survival. Covariates used in Cox proportional hazard models included sociodemographic factors, chronic medical conditions, activities of daily living, use of health services, health risk behaviors, cognitive function, affective mood, and negative life events. Adjusted risk of mortality associated with poor (compared to excellent) self-ratings of health was significantly elevated among urban men only. Confounders of the association between survival and overall health assessment varied widely by subgroup. Pooled estimates from heterogeneous populations may mask significant subgroup differences both in the pattern of variables that mediate crude risk and also in the magnitude of residual risk of global self-ratings of health.     

Running therapy: Special characteristics and therapeutic issues of concern.

Describes the use of running therapy in the case of a 32 yr old female incest survivor to delineate specific, predictable, and salient characteristics and issues that may inhere to this type of therapy. The need to address client variables and therapist attributes is discussed. Significant interpersonal issues include changes in the therapeutic bound, competition, and body awareness. Characteristics of running therapy include changes in thinking patterns, the use of symbolism and metaphor, and nonverbal communication. The positive effects of aerobic exercise in the context of psychotherapy may lead to a more profound and beneficial experience of psychotherapy. Further understanding of this form of therapy is useful both to those interested in the relationship between exercise and mental health and those studying varieties of psychotherapeutic experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Putting sport psychology into (your) practice.

The psychologist interested in expanding or diversifying practice will find the relatively new field of applied sport psychology rich in opportunities for learning, collaboration, and development. Exercise can be an important adjunct to psychotherapy, and psychological skills training offers systematic methods for performance improvement. Sport psychology is derived from a blending of sport science and psychology, and practitioner psychologists bring unique skills to this domain. Building on already developed areas of expertise, the psychologist can apply new skills to different populations in diverse settings. At the same time, the practitioner with an interest in sport psychology should obtain sufficient training, consider credentialing, and recognize ethical issues particular to this field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gaze tutor: A gaze-reactive intelligent tutoring system

We developed an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) that aims to promote engagement and learning by dynamically detecting and responding to students' boredom and disengagement. The tutor uses a commercial eye tracker to monitor a student's gaze patterns and identify when the student is bored, disengaged, or is zoning out. The tutor then attempts to reengage the student with dialog moves that direct the student to reorient his or her attentional patterns towards the animated pedagogical agent embodying the tutor. We evaluated the efficacy of the gaze-reactive tutor in promoting learning, motivation, and engagement in a controlled experiment where 48 students were tutored on four biology topics with both gaze-reactive and non-gaze-reactive (control condition) versions of the tutor. The results indicated that: (a) gaze-sensitive dialogs were successful in dynamically reorienting students’ attentional patterns to the important areas of the interface, (b) gaze-reactivity was effective in promoting learning gains for questions that required deep reasoning, (c) gaze-reactivity had minimal impact on students’ state motivation and on self-reported engagement, and (d) individual differences in scholastic aptitude moderated the impact of gaze-reactivity on overall learning gains. We discuss the implications of our findings, limitations, future work, and consider the possibility of using gaze-reactive ITSs in classrooms.     

Performance of a circle-to-line optical system for a Fabry-Perot interferometer: a laboratory study

We describe the characterization and laboratory study of a new optical device, a circle-to-line interferometer optical (CLIO) system, for a Fabry-Perot interferometer. The CLIO system converts a circular Fabry-Perot interferometer fringe pattern into a linear fringe pattern that can be analyzed by a linear array detector or a charge-coupled device. One can achieve the circle-to-line conversion by the use of a mirrored kaleidoscope and a 90-deg segment of a 45-deg half-angle internally reflecting cone. Our laboratory results are in good agreement with theoretical predictions. The aberrations associated with this optical system are minor for large F-number optical systems, especially for the cone segment. The finesse degradation caused by this CLIO system is relatively small, which agrees with the results of a ray-trace study.