University of Texas at Austin

About: University of Texas at Austin is a education organization based out in Austin, Texas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 94352 authors who have published 206297 publications receiving 9070052 citations. The organization is also known as: UT-Austin & UT Austin.

Public and private self-consciousness: Assessment and theory.

Abstract: A scale was constructed to assess individual differences in self-consciou sness. Norms and test-retest reliability are presented. Factor analysis of the scale revealed that self-consciousness has three components: public, private, and social anxiety. The relationships among these three factors are examined. The scale was found useful in research on social behavior, and its implications for research and therapy are discussed. Self Jawareness is a central concept in several divergent approaches to behavior and life. In psychoanalysi s, increased awareness of the self is both a tool and a goal. Self-examination enables the person to recognize his unconscious thoughts, motives, and defenses; one result of the therapy is increased insight, i.e., greater self-awareness. Rogerian therapy, existential analysis, and a variety of other insight therapies have also emphasized the importance of attending to and understanding one's inner thoughts and feelings. Relatively newer traditions, such as transactional analysis, encounter groups, and sensitivity training, have stressed the value of "getting in touch with oneself" and recognizing how one's behavior affects others. The quest for self-insight may also be seen in the widespread interest in the practice of meditation. Previous interest in self-awarenes s has derived from either a therapeutic orientation or a philosophical approach to life. Recently, self-awareness has been approached from an entirely different perspective—that of social psychology. Argyle (1969) has speculated about the impact of self ^awareness on social interaction, and Duval and Wicklund (1972) have elaborated an entire theory of selfawareness. Laboratory research generated by Duval and Wicklund's theory has examined both the effects of stimuli that direct attention toward the self (mirrors and cameras) Allan Fenigstein is now at Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, and Michael F. Scheier is now at Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Requests for reprints should be sent to Arnold H. Buss, Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712.

Hydrogels in Biology and Medicine: From Molecular Principles to Bionanotechnology†

Abstract: Hydrophilic polymers are the center of research emphasis in nanotechnology because of their perceived “intelligence”. They can be used as thin films, scaffolds, or nanoparticles in a wide range of biomedical and biological applications. Here we highlight recent developments in engineering uncrosslinked and crosslinked hydrophilic polymers for these applications. Natural, biohybrid, and synthetic hydrophilic polymers and hydrogels are analyzed and their thermodynamic responses are discussed. In addition, examples of the use of hydrogels for various therapeutic applications are given. We show how such systems’ intelligent behavior can be used in sensors, microarrays, and imaging. Finally, we outline challenges for the future in integrating hydrogels into biomedical applications.

Biological, clinical and population relevance of 95 loci for blood lipids

Abstract: Plasma concentrations of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides are among the most important risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) and are targets for therapeutic intervention. We screened the genome for common variants associated with plasma lipids in >100,000 individuals of European ancestry. Here we report 95 significantly associated loci (P < 5 x 10(-8)), with 59 showing genome-wide significant association with lipid traits for the first time. The newly reported associations include single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) near known lipid regulators (for example, CYP7A1, NPC1L1 and SCARB1) as well as in scores of loci not previously implicated in lipoprotein metabolism. The 95 loci contribute not only to normal variation in lipid traits but also to extreme lipid phenotypes and have an impact on lipid traits in three non-European populations (East Asians, South Asians and African Americans). Our results identify several novel loci associated with plasma lipids that are also associated with CAD. Finally, we validated three of the novel genes-GALNT2, PPP1R3B and TTC39B-with experiments in mouse models. Taken together, our findings provide the foundation to develop a broader biological understanding of lipoprotein metabolism and to identify new therapeutic opportunities for the prevention of CAD.