Response of the pituitary-adrenal axis in terms of type a behaviour,hostility and vital exhaustion in healthy middle-aged men

Abstract

Pituitary-adrenal axis was studied in terms of Type A behaviour, hostility and vital exhaustion among 69 healthy middle-aged men. The results showed that psychological factors could explain a significant proportion of the biologically manipulated responses of HPA axis, but they worked in different ways. Type A behaviour was related to a high level of mean basal ACTH and a low level of cortisol response to ACTH stimulation after dexamethasone suppression; hostility was related to a high level of mean basal cortisol and a high cortisol in cortisol/ACTH ratio, while vital exhaustion was characterized by a low level of mean basal ACTH and a decreased ACTH in relation to cortisol. The adrenocortical patterns, i.e. a high ACTH-low cortisol; a high cortisol; and a low ACTH-low mean basal cortisol, as related to Type A behaviour, hostility and exhaustion, respectively, are in line with the traditional physiological stress model and suggest that different adrenocortical responses might be able to identify different mental stress processes. Sense of control has been suggested to be a key concept for psychological understanding of this finding.     

Alexithymia and Cardiovascular Risk in Older Adults: Psychosocial,Psychophysiological, and Biomedical Correlates

Psychosocial correlates of alexithymia were examined in 102 healthy, older adults (ages 53-83; 76% male). Alexithymic ( n = 26) and non-alexithymic ( n = 30) groups, defined by top ( S 70) and bottom ( h 54) quartiles of the distribution of Toronto Alexithymia Scale (26-item) scores, were compared with respect to psychosocial, psychophysiological, and biomedical risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Both categorical ratings and continuous scores of alexithymia were associated with significantly greater levels of trait anxiety, anger-in, neuroticism, hostility, perceived stress, depression, and lower levels of social support. Compared to non-alexithymics, alexithymics displayed significantly greater blood pressure responses to anger provocation and tended to have a greater percent body fat. The groups did not differ in resting cardiovascular parameters, heart rate reactivity, fasting glucose and lipoprotein lipids, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, social desirability, or trait anger. These findings suggest several psychosocial and psychophysiological pathways by which alexithymia may confer risk for cardiovascular disease among older adults.     

Dislocations and cracks at Vickers indentations in (0 0 0 1) GaN single crystals

Single-crystal (0 0 0 1) GaN samples have been deformed with a Vickers indenter at room temperature using loads in the range from 0.02 to 4.90 N. Dislocations and cracks at the indentations were examined by means of scanning electron microscopy, cathodoluminescence, light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Geometrical relations could be found between the dislocation arrangement, cracks and the orientation of the indenter. The orientation of the indenter has only a slight effect on the dislocation pattern, but the crack system is predominantly determined by the symmetry and the orientation of the indenter.     

Design strategy for microalloyed ultra-ductile magnesium alloys

This article describes a design strategy deployed in developing ultra-ductile Mg alloys based on a microalloying concept, which aims to restrict grain growth considerably during alloy casting and forming. We discuss the efficiency of the design approach, and evaluate the resulting microstructural and mechanical properties. After processing, the so-designed alloys ZQCa3 (Mg–3Zn–0.5Ag–0.25Ca–0.15Mn, in wt.%) and ZKQCa3 (Mg–3Zn–0.5Zr–0.5Ag–0.25Ca–0.15Mn, in wt.%) reveal very fine grains (<10 µm), high ductility (elongation to fracture of up to 30%) at moderate strength or high strength (ultimate tensile strength of up to 350 MPa) at reasonable ductility. These properties are explained based on thermodynamic modelling, microstructure analysis including transmission electron microscopy studies, and microstructural and mechanical testing after annealing, and are compared to a related commercial alloy (ZK31).     

Cognitive-behavioural Treatment of a Patient Suffering from Menière's Disease

Abstract

Vertigo and dizziness may cause considerable discomfort and feelings of uncertainty. It is no surprise that vertigo is the most disabling symptom in Menière's disease, an inner ear disorder. The other two cardinal symptoms are tinnitus and hearing impairment. In this study, one severely disabled woman was treated with a cognitive-behavioural treatment comprising, among other components, relaxation training, stabilization of gaze, cognitive restructuring and behavioural task setting. The patient responded well to the treatment, during which her vertigo attacks disappeared. During the follow-up period, she experienced vertigo attacks again, but after two booster sessions the vertigo attacks vanished for the rest of the follow-up period. The results are further discussed.     

Learning at Workstations in the Zoo: A Controlled Evaluation of Cognitive and Affective Outcomes

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to test the cognitive and affective benefits gained through the provision of educational materials at workstations in the Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart, Germany. Structured learning materials were developed for use with visiting school groups. The materials focused on the adaptations of 6 selected groups of bird species and were organized as a self-guided learning environment (workstations). The value of the materials was assessed in terms of cognitive (learning and retention) and emotional (interest, well-being, boredom, anxiety, contentedness) variables. The authors measured prior knowledge (1 week before the zoo visit), learning effect (1 week after the visit), and retention (8 to 9 weeks later). A total of 103 students (6th graders aged between 11–12 years) participated in the study, 77 receiving a treatment about adaptations in bird species and 26 receiving a treatment about reptiles which served as a control. Students had similar prior knowledge, but 1 week later students receiving the bird unit scored significantly better and this persisted into retention. Girls achieved higher scores than boys, both 1 week and 8 to 9 weeks after the visit. Surprisingly, students in the control group reported higher interest, well-being and contentedness, and lower boredom than those in the treatment group.     

Role of expertise and action in motion extrapolation from real road scenes

The tendency of participants to “remember” the stopping point of an event as being farther along in the direction of motion has been a topic of study for about 30 years. The purpose of the present experiment was to test the influence of two factors on motion extrapolation: (1) The involvement of participants in the action, and (2) their expertise in the domain of automobile driving. Participants viewed real driving scenes from the driver's point of view. They were divided into four groups depending upon their involvement in the action (more or less active) and their driving experience (inexperienced or experienced). In order to get half of the participants involved in the driving situation, they had to use a steering wheel to follow the contour of the road. The results showed that both of these factors increased motion extrapolation. The discussion deals with how the interrelationships between real road scenes, expertise, and action-related knowledge affect motion extrapolation.     

Do core self-evaluations and coping style influence the perception of job insecurity?

Over the last few decades, increased flexibility and lack of stability in employment has made job insecurity a work stressor that affects more and more employees. Since worrying about potential job loss (quantitative job insecurity) or possible loss of valued job features (qualitative job insecurity) constitutes a subjective perception, it has been claimed that personality factors may be decisive for job insecurity perceptions. Furthermore, the perception of a stressor, in this case job insecurity, could be argued to be dependent on appraisals of available coping resources. This study investigates whether core self-evaluations predict job insecurity perceptions, and whether coping mediates this relationship, in a two-wave data set from a Swedish sample of white-collar workers (N = 425). The results show that core self-evaluations had a negative total effect on both qualitative and quantitative job insecurity. Core self-evaluations were positively related to problem-focused coping but not to emotion-focused coping. However, there was no mediating effect of coping style on the association between core self-evaluations and job insecurity.     

Book Review

Abstract

Yukl, G.A. (1989). Leadership in organizations (2nd ed.), Prentice Hall International Editions. ISBN 0-1352-7169-X. £20.95.     

Occupational well-being as a mediator between job insecurity and turnover intention: Findings at the individual and work department levels

This study examined the relationship between job insecurity and turnover intention by applying occupational well-being (exhaustion, vigour) as a mediator. The study was inspired by two theories: the conservation of resources and emotional contagion theories. We investigated the relationships at the individual and work department levels by utilizing Multi-Level Structural Equation Modeling (ML-SEM) with the aim of clarifying whether the mediating mechanism was similar at both levels. In addition, we examined the relationships across the levels (cross-level interactions). Self-report data for the study were obtained from Finnish University staff (N = 2137 individual respondents from 78 work departments). The analyses resulted in three main findings. First, job insecurity, turnover intention, and occupational well-being were found, to some extent (2–6%), to be shared experiences within work departments. Second, we found that low occupational well-being (high exhaustion, low vigour) partly mediated the relationship between job insecurity and turnover intention at both levels of analysis. Third, the results on cross-level interactions revealed that the lower the level of well-being at the work department level, the stronger the negative effect of job insecurity on well-being at the individual level. Thus, if poor well-being characterizes the work department, this may strengthen the negative relationship between job insecurity and well-being at the individual level.