Social skills training for withdrawn unpopular children with physical disabilities: A preliminary evaluation.

Examined changes in self-concept, perceptions of support from close friends and classmates, and loneliness in 11 8.6–14.6 yr old withdrawn unpopular children with cerebral palsy or spina bifida who had been involved in a social skills training program. The program targeted 5 basic skills: interpersonal problem solving, verbal and nonverbal communication, initiating interactions with peers, conversational skills, and coping with difficult others. To assess the impact of the program, Ss were evaluated before the intervention, after the 10-wk intervention, and at a 6-mo follow-up. Findings indicate that group social skills training may be effective in decreasing feelings of loneliness and increasing perceptions of social acceptance in children who are withdrawn and unpopular at school. Ss' feelings of loneliness were associated with lower ratings of social acceptance and lower ratings of classmate support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consumer preferences and willingness to pay for value-added chicken product attributes

A growing demand for convenient and ready-to-eat products has increased poultry processors' interest in developing consumer-oriented value-added chicken products. In this study, a conjoint analysis survey of 276 chicken consumers in Edmonton was conducted during the summer of 2009 to assess the importance of the chicken part, production method, processing method, storage method, the presence of added flavor, and cooking method on consumer preferences for different value-added chicken product attributes. Estimates of consumer willingness to pay (WTP) premium prices for different combinations of value-added chicken attributes were also determined. Participants'"ideal" chicken product was a refrigerated product made with free-range chicken breast, produced with no additives or preservatives and no added flavor, which could be oven heated or pan heated. Half of all participants on average were willing to pay 30% more for a value-added chicken product over the price of a conventional product. Overall, young consumers, individuals who shop at Farmers' Markets and those who prefer free-range or organic products were more likely to pay a premium for value-added chicken products. As expected, consumers' WTP was affected negatively by product price. Combined knowledge of consumer product attribute preferences and consumer WTP for value-added chicken products can help the poultry industry design innovative value-added chicken products. Practical Application: An optimum combination of product attributes desired by consumers for the development of a new value-added chicken product, as well as the WTP for this product, have been identified in this study. This information is relevant to the poultry industry to enhance consumer satisfaction of future value-added chicken products and provide the tools for future profit growth.     

CtpB Facilitates Mycobacterium tuberculosis Growth in Copper-Limited Niches

Copper is required for aerobic respiration by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its human host, but this essential element is toxic in abundance. Copper nutritional immunity refers to host processes that modulate levels of free copper to alternately starve and intoxicate invading microbes. Bacteria engulfed by macrophages are initially contained within copper-limited phagosomes, which fuse with ATP7A vesicles that pump in toxic levels of copper. In this report, we examine how CtpB, a P-type ATPase in M. tuberculosis, aids in response to nutritional immunity. In vitro, the induced expression of ctpB in copper-replete medium inhibited mycobacterial growth, while deletion of the gene impaired growth only in copper-starved medium and within copper-limited host cells, suggesting a role for CtpB in copper acquisition or export to the copper-dependent respiration supercomplex. Unexpectedly, the absence of ctpB resulted in hypervirulence in the DBA/2 mouse infection model. As ctpB null strains exhibit diminished growth only in copper-starved conditions, reduced copper transport may have enabled the mutant to acquire a “Goldilocks” amount of the metal during transit through copper-intoxicating environments within this model system. This work reveals CtpB as a component of the M. tuberculosis toolkit to counter host nutritional immunity and underscores the importance of elucidating copper-uptake mechanisms in pathogenic mycobacteria.     

Salt appetite is enhanced by one prior episode of sodium depletion in the rat.

A single sodium depletion enhances the salt appetite that is expressed after a second and subsequent sodium depletions. The enhanced salt intake, as measured by a decrease in latency to drink and an increase in volume of 3% NaCl ingested, is not accounted for by an increased sodium loss. The enhanced salt intake occurs even when the interval between first and second depletion is as long as 4 months. The enhanced salt appetite does not depend on the drinking of salt after the animal's first sodium depletion and is specific for strong 0.52 M NaCl but not for 0.52 M KCl. Moreover, it can be produced without sodium depletion by the actions of the hormones aldosterone and angiotensin on the brain. These results suggest that angiotensin and aldosterone, which are released in response to sodium depletion, (a) increase renal sodium conservation, (b) evoke a salt appetite to restore the lost sodium, and (c) produce enduring changes in the brain that prepare it for more rapid and more vigorous expression of salt appetite in response to future sodium depletions. Thus the neural mechanisms that govern salt appetite are not only activated by the hormones of sodium conservation but appear also to be organized by them for a lifelong increase in avidity for salty substances. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Genetically Informed Study of Marital Instability and Its Association With Offspring Psychopathology.

Parental divorce is associated with a number of emotional and behavioral problems in young-adult offspring, but theoretical and empirical considerations suggest that the relation may be partially or fully accounted for by passive gene-environment correlation or environmental selection characteristics. The current study used the Children of Twins Design to explore whether shared environmental or genetic factors confound the relationship between parental marital instability and measures of psychopathology. Comparisons of the offspring of adult twins in Australia on 3 factors of abnormal behavior, including drug and alcohol, behavioral, and internalizing problems, suggest that environmental influences associated with divorce account for the higher rates of psychopathology. The results are consistent with a causal connection between marital instability and psychopathology in young-adult offspring. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of managed care on independent practice and professional ethics: A survey of independent practitioners.

Managed care significantly affects the service delivery patterns, business structures, ethics, and professional concerns of independent practitioners. This survey assessed psychologists' perceptions of the effects of managed care on practice and ethics. Most respondents reported significant increases in dependence on managed care services for income. Negative effects included loss of control over ethical decisions and potential harm to patients from erosion of confidentiality. A majority of respondents reported encountering ethical concerns not addressed by the American Psychological Association ethics code. Findings suggest directions for practice development, for public policy addressing confidentiality, and for clarification of ethical responsibilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)