Exploring the ecological foundations of memory in psychotherapy: Interpersonal affordance, perception, and recollection in real time

Recent evidence suggests that memory narratives are fallible cognitive and social constructions. Yet, the literature lacks specific frameworks for guiding clinicians' inquiry into such narratives. We propose one such framework that focuses on interpersonal memories. The model, which is based on Gibson's Theory of Perception as applied to the interpersonal domain, seeks a detailed database from which higher level clinical inferences can be derived. Case material is used to illustrate its application. The model is discussed in relation to recent research and controversy about psychotherapeutic memory, and a stance clinicians might take toward memory phenomena.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/31916/1/0000869.pd

Conversion of furan over gallium and zinc promoted ZSM-5 : the effect of metal and acid sites

The addition of gallium or zinc to ZSM-5 increases the aromatic selectivity and decreases the olefin selectivity for furan conversion. Both the benzene and naphthalenes selectivities increase with small amounts of gallium or zinc addition. At 5 wt% metal loading this effect is more pronounced with zinc promoted ZSM-5 having about 25% higher benzene selectivity than the gallium promoted ZSM-5. Additionally, the decarbonylation and methane formation reactions were both increased by adding zinc or gallium to the catalyst. As zinc or gallium loading is increased, the amount of Brønsted acid sites decrease, while the quantity of Lewis acid sites increase. This effect was more pronounced with zinc, as a result of its greater effectiveness to exchange with protons at the Brønsted acid sites. The aromatic yield appears to correlate with this increase in Lewis acidity. The addition of zinc to ZSM-5 also altered the reaction chemistry occurring during the hydrolysis of furan, lowering propylene and increasing methane yields as zinc loading increased

Laboratory apparatus to evaluate microalgae production

The application of microalgae for energy purposes and CO2 biomitigation continues to present a number of challenges, including the optimization of culture conditions. The application of experimental designs for microalgae cultivation is difficult, since experiments involving such microorganisms generally last days or weeks. This work proposes a multipurpose laboratory apparatus for the optimization of microalgae experimental conditions that simultaneously enables the evaluation of variables such as temperature, irradiance, photoperiod and CO2 concentration in the aeration stream, as well as variables related to the concentration of culture media nutrients. A case study is also presented in which temperature, concentration of f/2 medium sodium nitrate and the effects of incident light intensity on Nannochloropsis oculata lipid content are evaluated. Experiments were carried out following central composite designs, in batch cultivation within an airlift photobioreactor apparatus. The best experimental result was obtained at 21 ºC, 119 mg/L NaNO3 and 137 µE.m-2.s-1, corresponding to 41.8% lipids and 211.9 mg.L-1 final lipid concentrations

Methodological innovations in the National Survey of American Life

This paper provides an overview of the conceptualization and methods used in the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). The objectives of the NSAL are to investigate the nature, severity, and impairment of mental disorders among national samples of the black and non-Hispanic white (n = 1,006) populations in the US, including African American (N = 3,570), and Afro-Caribbean (N = 1,623) immigrant and second and older generation, populations. National multi-stage probability methods were used in generating the samples and race/ethnic matching of interviewers and respondents were employed in the largely face-to-face interview, lasting on average 2 hours and 20 minutes. Two methodological approaches are described for addressing sampling coverage of individuals attached to, but not residing in, selected households at the time of the study. The paper also describes two approaches used to address concerns about the interpretations of standard symptom probe information in assessing serious mental disorders. This included a clinical reappraisal study designed to ascertain differences in symptom responding and ascertainment of cases (N = 677) in a subset of the same NSAL respondents. Finally, an abbreviated, novel method for estimating the prevalence of mental disorders in first-degree family members is described and the preliminary results from this new approach are reported. Copyright © 2004 Whurr Publishers Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/34227/1/182_ftp.pd

Will seasonally dry tropical forests be sensitive or resistant to future changes in rainfall regimes?

Seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTF) are located in regions with alternating wet and dry seasons, with dry seasons that last several months or more. By the end of the 21st century, climate models predict substantial changes in rainfall regimes across these regions, but little is known about how individuals, species, and communities in SDTF will cope with the hotter, drier conditions predicted by climate models. In this review, we explore different rainfall scenarios that may result in ecological drought in SDTF through the lens of two alternative hypotheses: 1) these forests will be sensitive to drought because they are already limited by water and close to climatic thresholds, or 2) they will be resistant/resilient to intra- and inter-annual changes in rainfall because they are adapted to predictable, seasonal drought. In our review of literature that spans microbial to ecosystem processes, a majority of the available studies suggests that increasing frequency and intensity of droughts in SDTF will likely alter species distributions and ecosystem processes. Though we conclude that SDTF will be sensitive to altered rainfall regimes, many gaps in the literature remain. Future research should focus on geographically comparative studies and well-replicated drought experiments that can provide empirical evidence to improve simulation models used to forecast SDTF responses to future climate change at coarser spatial and temporal scales