Showing papers by "Temple University published in 1985"

Modern Quantum Mechanics

Abstract: Modern Quantum Mechanics is a classic graduate level textbook, covering the main quantum mechanics concepts in a clear, organized and engaging manner. The author, Jun John Sakurai, was a renowned theorist in particle theory. The second edition, revised by Jim Napolitano, introduces topics that extend the text's usefulness into the twenty-first century, such as advanced mathematical techniques associated with quantum mechanical calculations, while at the same time retaining classic developments such as neutron interferometer experiments, Feynman path integrals, correlation measurements, and Bell's inequality. A solution manual for instructors using this textbook can be downloaded from www.cambridge.org/9781108422413.

Families and individual development: provocations from the field of family therapy.

Abstract: Family therapy suggests a reformulation of concept and method in studying the family and individual development: to regard the family as an organized system and the individual as a contributing member, part of the process that creates and maintains the patterns that regulate behavior. In this review, the theories and clinical experiences of family therapists are regarded as a resource for developmental psychology, and particular attention is paid to those aspects that challenge traditional formulations in the developmental field. The review focuses on systems theory as the paradigm underlying family therapy and considers the implications of this framework for conceptions of the individual, the study of parent-child interaction, and new research formulations and areas of study. It also considers trends in the developmental field that move toward such formulations.

Supplementary motor area structure and function: Review and hypotheses

Abstract: Though its existence has been known for well over 30 years, only recently has the supplementary motor area (SMA) and its role in the cortical organization of movement come to be examined in detail by neuroscientists. Evidence from a wide variety of investigational perspectives is reviewed in an attempt to synthesize a conceptual framework for understanding SMA function. It is suggested that the SMA has an important role to play in the intentional process whereby internal context influences the elaboration of action. It may be viewed as phylogenetically older motor cortex, derived from anterior cingulate periarchicortical limbic cortex, which, as a key part of a medial premotor system, is crucial in the “programming” and fluent execution of extended action sequences which are “projectional” in that they rely on model-based prediction. This medial system can be distinguished from a lateral premotor system postulated to have evolved over phylogeny from a different neural source. An anatomico-physiologic model of the medial premotor system is proposed which embodies the principles of cyclicity and reentrance in the process of selecting those neural components to become active in conjunction with the performance of a particular action. The postulated dynamic action of this model in the microgenesis of a discrete action is outlined. It is concluded that although there is a great deal to be learned about the SMA, a convergence of current evidence can be identified. Such evidence suggests that the SMA plays an important role in the development of the intention-to-act and the specification and elaboration of action through its mediation between medial limbic cortex and primary motor cortex.

The measurement and prediction of career commitment

Abstract: Using a sample of 119 registered nurses from a large urban hospital, this longitudinal study investigated the nomological network of career commitment by: (a) determining if a distinct measure of career commitment could be operationalized, and (b) examining whether such a measure showed a different relationship to withdrawal cognition scales than measures of other work commitment concepts. The study also tested the importance of situational and individual difference variables in predicting career commitment.

Corporate board size, composition and corporate failures in retailing industry[1]

Abstract: In recent years some activists have advanced proposals to reform corporate boards, notably their structure and process, to assure desirable corporate governance. the empirical question, however, is whether such formal board changes would guarantee good governance. This paper examines this issue by studying the differences in the board size and board composition of 21 pairs of failed and non-failed firms. the results suggest that the non-failed retailing firms, as compared to failed ones, tend to have bigger boards within the size range suggested by the activists. the differences in the percent of outsider directors and multiple offices held by C.E.O.s between the failed and non-failed firms were not significant. Implications of the results for the evaluation of board reforms are discussed.

Microinjected c-myc as a competence factor.

Abstract: While a number of oncogenes are expressed in a cell cycle-dependent manner, their role in the control of cell proliferation can only be established by a direct functional assay. The c-myc protein, upon microinjection into nuclei of quiescent Swiss 3T3 cells, cooperated with platelet-poor plasma in the stimulation of cellular DNA synthesis. This suggests that c-myc protein, like platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), may act as a competence factor in the cell cycle to promote the progression of cells to S phase. The presence in the medium of an antibody against PDGF abolished DNA synthesis induced by microinjected PDGF; however, the microinjected c-myc protein stimulated DNA synthesis even when its own antibody was present in the medium. The c-myc protein may act as an intracellular competence factor, while PDGF expresses its biological activity only from outside the cells.

Solid and papillary epithelial neoplasm of the pancreas.

Abstract: Solid and papillary epithelial neoplasm of the pancreas is an uncommon low grade malignant tumor histologically distinct from the usual ductal adenocarcinoma and amenable to cure by surgical excision. It tends to occur in black women in their second or third decade of life and has often been misclassified as nonfunctional islet cell tumor or as cystadenoma or cystadenocarcinoma. Twelve cases were reviewed. Sonography and CT of solid and papillary epithelial neoplasms depict a well-demarcated mass that can be solid, mixed cystic and solid, or largely cystic. The radiologic appearance is dependent on the maintenance of the integrity of the neoplasm versus the extent of retrogressive changes that have occurred.

Toward a cognitive-behavioral model of child psychopathology and a critique of related interventions.

Abstract: A cognitive-behavioral model recognizes the interdependencies of cognitive, affective, social, developmental, and behavioral factors in the etiology and remediation of childhood psychopathology. The model is concerned with the cognitive distortions and deficiencies that surround behavioral events and emphasizes the combination of treatment strategies with the therapist as a remediation organizer. Recommendations are made regarding treatment expectations, the specificity of the cognition-disorder relationship, the quality of the application of the training, and the need for further involvement of the child in the therapeutic curriculum.

Attachment to place: Discriminant validity, and impacts of disorder and diversity

Abstract: We sought to establish the discriminant validity of related concepts: territoriality and attachment to place. Further, we investigated the contextual determinants of attachment. We hypothesized that persons living in more heterogeneous neighborhoods would be less attached. We also hypothesized that levels of perceived or objective disorder would be negatively associated with attachment levels. The hypotheses were tested using data from a survey of 687 heads of household in Baltimore, Maryland. Data on police activity and neighborhood characteristics were also gathered. A clear territorial dimension and two attachment dimensions (Rooted and Involved; Acquaintanceship) were identified. Regressions of each dimension supported the distinctness of territoriality and attachment, as well as the hypothesized impacts of diversity and disorder on attachment. Not only are some people more attached to place than others but there are also some places to which people can become attached more easily. This study is the first to establish the direct impacts of diversity on attachment to place.

Demonstration of sperm chemotaxis in Echinodermata: Asteroidea, Holothuroidea, Ophiuroidea

Abstract: The sperm of starfish (Asteroidea), sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea), and brittle stars (Ophiuroidea) are chemotactically attracted to the tip of a micropipette releasing very small volumes of egg water or seawater solution of an alcoholic extract of ovaries or spawned eggs. The sperm are unresponsive to injections of seawater or a weak solution of ammonium chloride in seawater. No other echinoderm tissue tested yields an extract with sperm-attracting activity. A complex set of species-specificities has been demonstrated between many of the genera and species used in these experiments. Plotting of the paths of chemotactic sperm reveals that they approach the tip of the pipette along a path consisting of small loops alternating with straight segments orientated directly up the gradient. This is similar to the chemotactic behavior previously reported for the sperm of hydrozoans, molluscs, and urochordates. Sperm velocity does not change in response to the sperm attractant. Attracted sperm remain motile long after they have been attracted and do not agglutinate. In at least some cases the attraction response is reversible. This is the first direct evidence of sperm chemotaxis in echinoderms.

Nifedipine-induced gingival hyperplasia. A histochemical and ultrastructural study.

Abstract: Gingival hyperplasia induced by nifedipine (Procardia), a calcium channel-blocking agent used as an anti-anginal drug, was studied. In recent months, the role of nifedipine in the etiology of gingival hyperplasia has attracted interest. The purpose of this study was to determine the causal relationship and compare nifedipine to other drug-induced (phenytoin) and nondrug-induced gingival hyperplasias. Histochemical studies revealed increased numbers of fibroblasts containing strongly sulfated mucopolysaccharides in the nifedipine- and phenytoin- (Dilantin) induced gingival hyperplasias as compared to the nondrug-induced cases. Numerous secretory granules were also noted in the fibroblast cytoplasm in the nifedipine-treated case studied by electron microscopy. These results imply that there is an increase in acid mucopolysaccharide production in the nifedipine- and phenytoin-induced gingival hyperplasias. The potential significance and comparisons of the drugs' effects at the cellular level are discussed.

The 5-month-old's ability to discriminate facial expressions of emotion

Abstract: The paired-comparison novelty technique was used to assess the 5-month-old infant's ability to discriminate between the facial expressions of anger, fear, and sadness. The 72 infants met the criterion for discrimination except when anger was the novel stimulus. It was hypothesized that for some infants novelty was a less potent determinant of looking than was another aspect of the stimulus ex pression, such as its social-signal value or relative aversiveness. A second experiment was designed to test this notion. Sixty-eight infants failed to meet the criterion of discrimination between joy, anger, and interest, though infants had done so in previous studies. Results of the two experiments suggest that some 5-month-olds can discriminate between anger, sadness, and fear expressions, but that the paired-comparison novelty technique may underestimate the infant's ability to detect differences among stimuli of different social- or emotion-signal value.

Neutrophil elastase-releasing factors in bronchoalveolar lavage from patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome

Abstract: Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) was obtained from patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Controls included BAL from normal subjects and from patients with sarcoidosis or pulmonary fibrosis. Neutrophil elastase measured immunologically was found in all BAL samples, but it was strikingly greater in BAL from patients with ARDS than in the BAL from normal subjects or patients with sarcoidosis. There was no significant difference in the neutrophil elastase antigen concentrations in BAL samples from patients with ARDS and those with pulmonary fibrosis. No elastolytic activity was found in either group. The alpha-1-antitrypsin and the bronchial mucus inhibitor were greater in BAL from patients with ARDS. There was a highly significant correlation between the alveolar-arterial oxygen tension difference and the neutrophil elastase concentration in BAL from the patients with ARDS. Kallikrein, prekallikrein, factor XIa-like activity, and high molecular weight kininogen antigen were found in BAL of patients with ARDS, suggesting that the kallikrein-kinin cascade may be activated in the lungs of patients with ARDS. Kallikrein-like activity in the BAL from the patients with ARDS was significantly correlated with the number of neutrophils in the BAL, the neutrophil elastase concentration, and the ability of the BAL to release elastase from cytochalasin-B-treated neutrophils. There was no correlation between these variables and C5a concentration. These studies demonstrated an association between BAL neutrophil elastase and the clinical state of patients with ARDS.

Behavior Therapy with Obsessive-Compulsives

Abstract: Clinical accounts of obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) have appeared in the literature for well over 100 years Esquirol first described this syndrome in 1838, but it was not until the beginning of this century that attempts were made to formally document and define it (Janet, 1903; Lewis, 1935; Schneider, 1925) Traditional conceptualizations of OCD have generally included both cognitive and behavioral components For example, Pollitt (1956) suggested that this disorder is characterized by a recurrent or persistent idea, thought, image, feeling, impulse or movement which is accompanied by a sense of subjective compulsion and desire to resist it, the event being recognized by the individual as foreign to his personality and into the abnormality of which he has insight (p 842)

Mood, recall, and selectivity effects in normal college students.

Abstract: In three experiments we explored the relation between normal variation in depressed mood and memory in college students. Subjects read and subsequently recalled stories whose protagonists experienced good, bad, and neutral events. Contrary to predictions arising independently from capacity theory and from schema theory, the recall of depressed and nondepressed subjects did not differ in either overall level or in affective content. The results are not easily handled by a conceptualization of depression, tied to schema theory, which proposes that negative cognitions are important for the initiation and maintenance of depression. The general usefulness of induction procedures in research on the depressive syndrome is discussed.