Can we facilitate posttraumatic growth in combat veterans?

The Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program, currently under development for the U.S. Army, will include a component designed to increase the possibilities for posttraumatic growth in the aftermath of combat. In this article, we briefly review studies that provide evidence for this phenomenon in combat veterans, and we suggest elements that such a program might include to facilitate posttraumatic growth. We urge the Army to conduct randomized controlled trials testing the efficacy of the program prior to its implementation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

White matter lesion detection in multiple sclerosis: improved interobserver concordance with multispectral MRI display

The histopathology specimens from 256 consecutive prostatectomies were retrospectively analysed and classified into three categories namely BPH alone, BPH and an inflammatory lesion and adenocarcinoma. Mode of presentation (acute urine retention versus prostatism) as well as short term post-operative complications, namely, haemorrhage and genitourinary infection were compared in the three histological categories to study the impact of histology on clinical presentation and complications. There were no significant differences between the three categories neither in presentation nor in complications. We conclude that prostate gland histology neither correlates with the onset of acute urine retention nor with the surgical complications studied in this report.     

The bogus pipeline as lie detector: Two validity studies.

Two studies, using a total of 109 undergraduates as Ss, tested the validity of the bogus pipeline procedure for eliciting truthful responses from Ss in social psychological experiments. Ss were illegitimately informed about how to perform well on an experimental test, were tested, and then were asked whether they had possessed this prior information. As compared to Ss responding to pencil-and-paper questions for face-to-face questioning by the experimenter, those in a bogus pipeline condition confessed more often. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Systems of care and the integrative clinician: A look into the future of psychotherapy.

The widespread implementation of systems of care represents an important opportunity to integrate behavioral, cognitive, milieu, client-centered, group, solution-focused, systems, multicultural, and ecological approaches to child and family therapy. This integrated approach is described and illustrated, and systems of care principles are considered to be a useful foundation for effective therapeutic practices for difficult problems of children, families, and adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adaptive atomic capture of multiple molecules

Facing the scale, heterogeneity and dynamics of the global computing platform emerging on top of the Internet, autonomic computing has been raised recently as one of the top challenges of computer science research. Such a paradigm calls for alternative programming abstractions, able to express autonomic behaviours. In this quest, nature-inspired analogies regained a lot of interest. More specifically, the chemical programming paradigm, which envisions a program’s execution as a succession of reactions between molecules representing data to produce a result, has been shown to provide some adequate abstractions for the high-level specification of autonomic systems.     

Desired image of power, alcohol expectancies and alcohol-related aggression.

Three hundred thirty-nine college students were surveyed regarding their usual drinking behavior, alcohol expectancies, desired identity of power, and experience with alcohol-related violence. Eight percent indicated having been in a fight in a bar, and 16% indicated having been in a fight while drinking in the previous year. Male heavy drinkers were more likely than female heavy drinkers to experience alcohol-related and bar violence. The belief that intoxication causes one to become aggressive was related to experiencing alcohol-related violence. However, the relationship of alcohol expectancies to alcohol-related aggression was moderated by an individual difference in the desire to be seen as powerful. Results are discussed in terms of cognitive models of alcohol expectancy development and maintenance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Protein patterning on polycrystalline silicon–germanium via standard UV lithography for bioMEMS applications

Polycrystalline silicon–germanium (poly-SiGe) is a promising structural material for the post-processing of micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) on top of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) substrates. Combining MEMS and CMOS allows for the development of high-performance devices. We present for the first time selective protein immobilization on top of poly-SiGe surfaces, an enabling technique for the development of novel poly-SiGe based MEMS biosensors. Active regions made of 3-aminopropyl-triethoxysilane (APTES) were defined using silane deposition onto photoresist patterns followed by lift-off in organic solvents. Subsequently, proteins were covalently bound on the created APTES patterns. Fluorescein-labeled human serum albumin (HSA) was used to verify the immobilization procedure while the binding capability of the protein layer was tested by an antigen-labeled antibody pair. Inspection by fluorescence microscopy showed protein immobilization inside the desired bioactive areas and low non-specific adsorption outside the APTES pattern. Furthermore, the quality of the silane patches was investigated by treatment with 30 nm-diameter gold nanoparticles and scanning electron microscope observation. The developed technique is therefore a promising first step towards the realization of poly-SiGe based biosensors.     

High-Bandwidth Multisampled Digitally Controlled DC–DC Converters Using Ripple Compensation

This paper investigates multi sampled digitally controlled switched-mode power supplies with switching ripple compensation. In digital controllers for power converters, the main bandwidth limitations come from A/D conversion time, computational delays, and small-signal delay of the digital pulsewidth modulator (DPWM). In hard-wired digital-controller technologies, such as in dedicated digital IC and/or in field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), the calculation delays can be made negligible with respect to the switching period; thus, when fast ADCs are used, the overall phase lag is dominated by the DPWM. The multi sampling approach can strongly reduce the DPWM delay, thus breaking the bandwidth limitations of conventional single-sampled solutions. In this paper, the additional aliasing effects, which would require a filtering action, are avoided, exploiting the periodic nature of the switching ripple under steady-state conditions using a repetitive-based filtering action. Simulation and experimental results on a 1.2-V-10-A 500-kHz synchronous buck converter, where the digital control has been implemented in the FPGA, confirm the properties of the proposed solution.     

Effects of clients' attributional explanations and reasons for seeking help on counselors' impressions.

On the basis of an impression-management view of the counseling interaction, the effects of clients' initial self-presentations on counselors' impressions were investigated. It was predicted that a client offering personal attributional explanations (claiming responsibility for his/her problematic behavior) would be seen in a more favorable light than would one who attributed his/her predicament to others or to the situation. It was also expected that the client who expressed an intrinsic (self-improvement) reason for seeking help would make a better impression than would one who offered an extrinsic (nontherapeutic) reason. Ratings by 77 graduate psychology or social work students of stimulus tapes that manipulated these variables supported the hypotheses. The client who expressed personal attributions was viewed as more motivated and attractive than was the client who made situational attributions. When the reason for seeking help was intrinsic, Ss perceived the client to be more motivated and as having a better prognosis for change. There were, however, no uniquely significant effects on specific outcome expectancies or on judgments of problem severity. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)