Ordered nanostructures by site-specific heterogeneous nucleation

Highly site-specific heterogeneous nucleation from the vapour phase has been exploited to produce metallic nanostructures on reconstructed ceramic surfaces. The site-specificity arises from the fact that nucleation takes place under highly undersaturated conditions and hence occurs only on specific favourable sites. This approach has been used to produce ordered arrays of nanoparticles, nanorods and nanowires of different metals. The experimental conditions needed to produce different nanostructures are elucidated.     

NEUROBEHAVIORAL SEQUELAE OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

This study examined intellectual and memory functioning in a sample of sexually abused children compared to demographically and age-matched controls. The severity of abuse and other pertinent factors were also examined in relation to cognitive performance. Elevated levels of psychopathology were present in the abused children, as well as diminished performance on tasks influenced by attention/concentration. However, after controlling for differences in IQ and socioeconomic status (SES), significant differences in memory function were not found. Results are discussed in the context of stress effects on cognition and the potential resiliency of cognitive function in children undergoing treatment for sexual abuse.     

Dissociation of dislocations in MgAl2O4 spinel deformed at low temperatures

Abstract

When spinel is deformed in compression at 400°C along 〈110〉, the primary slip plane is found to be {111} with cross-slip occurring on a {001} plane. A comparison of weak-beam images of dislocations from both systems indicates that all dislocations which belong to the primary slip plane are dissociated out of the {111} plane independent of the character of the dislocation. It is proposed that deformation occurs by motion of dislocations in their dissociated state and that the partial dislocations actually glide on parallel glide planes. Movement of these dissociated dislocations is then accompanied by a concurrent migration of the stacking fault which takes place by a local shuffling of the cations. A stacking fault energy for conservative dissociation at 400°C on {001} of 530±90mJ m^?2 has been determined from weak-beam images of screw dislocations.     

Main and Interactive Effects of Distress Tolerance and Negative Affect Intensity in Relation to PTSD Symptoms among Trauma-Exposed Adults

The present investigation evaluated the main and interactive effects of distress tolerance and negative affect intensity in relation to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity and symptom cluster severity. Participants were 190 trauma-exposed adults (52.6 % women; M _age?=?25.3 years, SD?=?11.4) recruited from the community. Distress tolerance (i.e., perceived ability to withstand distressing emotional states) demonstrated significant incremental associations with global PTSD symptom severity as well as Re-Experiencing, Emotional Numbing, and Hyperarousal symptom cluster severity. Negative affect intensity (i.e., perceived intensity of negative emotional responses) demonstrated significant incremental associations with each of the PTSD symptom outcomes. Moreover, the incremental interactive effect of distress tolerance and negative affect intensity was significantly associated with PTSD symptom severity as well as PTSD—Emotional Numbing symptom cluster severity. These incremental effects were evident after accounting for the variance explained by anxiety sensitivity (i.e., fear of anxiety-related sensations). Post hoc probing analyses supported the moderating role of negative affect intensity in the association between distress tolerance and PTSD symptom severity, such that low levels of distress tolerance, in the context of elevated levels of negative affect intensity, were associated with the greatest levels of PTSD symptoms.     

Book and Website Reviews

Using practicing sales managers as subjects, the results indicate that personal characteristics of gender and weight may be used in making disciplinary judgments following episodes of a particular type of unacceptable work behavior, an unethical selling act. As hypothesized, saleswomen were disciplined less severely while overweight salespeople were disciplined more severely. However, being overweight produced harsher discipline for saleswomen but had no effect on salesmen. A stated organizational policy about the particular type of unacceptable behavior used did bring about more equal treatment for those described as overweight but did not even out the discipline administered to men and women.     

Anxiety sensitivity and distress tolerance typologies and relations to posttraumatic stress disorder: A cluster analytic approach

A growing literature suggests a relationship between a high anxiety sensitivity (AS; the fear of anxiety and its related consequences)/low distress tolerance (DT; the capacity tolerate internal negative states) profile and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, specific profiles have not been identified or examined specifically in Veteran samples. Thus, the aims of the present study were to establish empirically derived profiles created from response patterns on the Anxiety Sensitivity Index and Distress Tolerance Scale and to examine associations with PTSD symptom clusters among a sample of combat-exposed Veterans (N = 250). A cluster analytic approach was used to identify AS/DT profiles, and a series of multivariate analyses of variance with post hoc analyses was conducted to examine the relationship between each AS/DT profile and each PTSD symptom cluster. Results indicated a 3-cluster solution including a high AS/low DT “at risk” profile, a low AS/high DT “resilient” profile, and an average AS/DT “intermediate” profile. The at-risk profile was associated with significantly greater symptoms in each PTSD cluster (i.e., hyperarousal, avoidance, re-experiencing) when compared to the other two profiles. The at-risk profile was also associated with greater depressive symptoms and lower self-reported resilience. These findings extend the previous literature by identifying a high AS/low DT “at risk” profile and its associations with PTSD symptoms, underscoring the potential utility in targeting these affect-regulation constructs for clinical intervention.     

Now for Me,Later for Us? Effects of Group Context on Temporal Discounting

Delayed rewards are less valuable than immediate rewards. This well‐established finding has focused almost entirely on individual outcomes. However, are delayed rewards similarly discounted if they are shared by a group? The current article reports on three experiments exploring the effect of group context on delay discounting. Results indicate that discount rates of individual and group rewards were highly correlated, but that respondents were more willing to wait (decreased discounting) for shared outcomes than for individual outcomes. An explanatory model is proposed suggesting that decreased discount rates in group contexts may be due to the way the effects of both delay and social discounting are combined. That is, in a group context, a person values both a future reward (discounted by delay) and a present reward to another person (discounted by the social distance between them). The results are explained by a combined discount function containing a delay factor and a factor representing the social distance between the decision maker and group members. Practical implications of the fact that shared consequences can increase individual self‐control are also discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Military Sexual Trauma in Treatment-Seeking Women Veterans

As the number of women serving in the military continues to grow, it is increasingly important to explore the sequelae of military sexual trauma (MST) among female veterans. The current study included 232 female veterans who sought outpatient mental health treatment at an urban Veterans Affairs hospital. The study's aims were to (a) describe and compare the demographic characteristics, health behaviors, and psychological symptoms of female veterans who have experienced MST to those veterans who do not report this experience; and (b) examine the associations between psychological symptoms and health behaviors in this sample, stratified by MST status. Results indicate that treatment-seeking women veterans who reported experiencing MST endorsed more psychological distress compared to those who did not report experiencing MST. In addition, psychological symptoms were associated with engaging in problematic health behaviors, such as binge eating and infrequent physical exercise among both those women who experienced MST and those who did not.     

Feasibility and validity of the structured attention module among economically disadvantaged preschool-age children

Rooted in the theory of attention put forth by Mirsky, Anthony, Duncan, Ahearn, and Kellam (1991), the Structured Attention Module (SAM) is a developmentally sensitive, computer-based performance task designed specifically to assess sustained selective attention among 3- to 6-year-old children. The current study addressed the feasibility and validity of the SAM among 64 economically disadvantaged preschool-age children (mean age = 58 months; 55% female); a population known to be at risk for attention problems and adverse math performance outcomes. Feasibility was demonstrated by high completion rates and strong associations between SAM performance and age. Principal Factor Analysis with rotation produced robust support for a three-factor model (Accuracy, Speed, and Endurance) of SAM performance, which largely corresponded with existing theorized models of selective and sustained attention. Construct validity was evidenced by positive correlations between SAM Composite scores and all three SAM factors and IQ, and between SAM Accuracy and sequential memory. Value-added predictive validity was not confirmed through main effects of SAM on math performance above and beyond age and IQ; however, significant interactions by child sex were observed: Accuracy and Endurance both interacted with child sex to predict math performance. In both cases, the SAM factors predicted math performance more strongly for girls than for boys. There were no overall sex differences in SAM performance. In sum, the current findings suggest that interindividual variation in sustained selective attention, and potentially other aspects of attention and executive function, among young, high-risk children can be captured validly with developmentally sensitive measures.     

Emotional responding in depression: Distinctions in the time course of emotion

The current studies were designed to investigate if the emotion context insensitivity hypothesis (ECI; Rottenberg & Gotlib, 2004) is applicable across the time course of emotion. Recent affective science research has pointed to the importance of considering anticipation and maintenance of emotion. In the current studies, we assessed emotion responses among college students with depression symptoms in anticipation of, during, and after an emotional picture using the emotion modulated startle paradigm. People with and without depression symptoms did not differ in blink magnitude in anticipation of emotional pictures suggesting that some anticipatory processes may not be impaired by depression symptoms. In contrast, individuals with depression symptoms did not exhibit blink magnitudes that varied by valence, either during viewing or after the pictures were removed from view. These findings suggest that ECI is relevant not only for those diagnosed with major depressive disorder, but also for people with depression symptoms that may not cross the diagnostic threshold. These data also point to the importance of considering the time course of emotion to better understand emotional deficits in individuals with differing levels of depression symptoms. Identifying where emotion goes awry across the time course of emotion can help inform treatment development.