Health psychology and the public health perspective: In search of the pump handle.

Health psychology and public health share many common interests and goals, but frequently define and approach problems differently. Drawing from historical and contemporary examples, this paper examines key elements of the public health approach: identification of a health problem in a population, empirically derived understanding of problems, and use of preventive interventions, often of a regulatory nature. Justification for this approach is based on explication of the public health model, described in comparison to the traditional medical model and several psychological approaches. The example of health promotion is used to explore both challenges and potential pitfalls of collaboration between health psychology and public health. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social support and physical health.

Reviews the literature on social support (SS) and physical health (PH), focusing on studies of illness onset; stress; utilization of health services; adherence to medical regimens; and recovery, rehabilitation, and adaptation to illness among human adults. Only studies with outcome measures of PH are considered. It is suggested that evidence supporting a direct link between SS and PH is more modest than previously claimed. More complex models including clearer multidimensional conceptualizations of SS are suggested for research. A framework delineating stages at which SS can mediate PH outcomes is presented. It is concluded that SS includes personality as well as environmental variables. PH as a stage phenomenon and learned helplessness in PH outcomes are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-regulated teaching of others as a means of improving study habits.

30 undergraduates enrolled in an 8-session study skills program were given exercises throughout the sessions and asked to evaluate their own performance on these tasks and reward themselves with money. 15 Ss were required to teach the contents of each session to a friend and then to self-assess and monetarily self-reinforce their teaching competence. The remaining 15 Ss constituted a nonteaching control. Analysis of variance of scores on the Brown-Holtzman Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes and a specially developed Study Skills Inventory showed that all Ss reported significantly better study habits following the program, with a significant Teaching * Program interaction indicating greater gains for the teaching Ss. Ss in both groups showed a significant reduction in Suinn Test Anxiety Behavior Scales scores. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On reflection.

Theoretical explanations of the therapeutic process of reflection exhibit certain logical problems such as the existence of denied experiences. A theory is proposed that suggests that it is the therapist's task not to reveal to the client the presence of existing emotions or feelings, but to help in the creation of emotional attitudes. Emotions, like other experiences, are constructed out of stimuli that are selectively chosen. The therapist helps the client to select the appropriate stimuli and thus to experience the appropriate emotions and emotional attitudes. In this respect the therapist can be regarded as the transmitter of community judgments about the appropriate emotion in a given context. The teaching of these fundamental experiences is accomplished through the playing of language games by therapist and client. A prerequisite of effective learning by the client is the existence of a close bond between client and therapist, similar to the bond that exists between neonates and parents in imprinting situations. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal history for psychological stress related to locus of control orientation among college women.

Analyzed retrospective reports on stressful life events throughout childhood and adolescence and a measure of internal-external locus of control orientation (Nowicki-Strickland Personal Reaction Survey) for 34 female undergraduates. Data were analyzed by the Mann-Whitney U test comparing accrued positive, negative, and neutral stress for internals vs externals at each of 4 age periods. Findings indicate that (a) only events associated with remembered affective significance were related to locus of control orientation; (b) affectively significant, recalled life stresses (preschool) were related to reporting a strong external control orientation in adulthood; and (c) recalled positive life stresses over which the respondent likely had some control during high school years tended to be related to a strong internal control orientation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Negro stereotype and perceptual accentuation.

3 hypotheses were tested: (1) There is no difference in the degree of personality stereotyping of Negro photographs varying widely in physiognomic Negroidness; (2) Anti-Negro judges exaggerate the personality stereotype of Negroes, whereas pro-Negro judges de-emphasize it; and (3) Both anti- and pro-Negro judges perceive the Negro as more Negroid in physiognomic traits than do neutral judges. The first 2 hypotheses were supported by the data. Although a comparison of the mean Negroidness scores for the 3 groups of judges supported the third hypothesis, the difference between the neutral group and the pro-Negro group was not statistically significant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

RDX biodegradation column study: comparison of electron donors for biologically induced reductive transformation in groundwater

A series of column studies, using site-specific soil and groundwater, were conducted to determine the feasibility of biologically active zone enhancement (BAZE) process for reductive biotransformation of hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) in groundwater. This treatability study examined the use of four amendments (acetate, ethanol, soluble starch, and acetate plus ammonium), which served as electron donors. Triplicate columns, with groundwater residence time of about 27.5 h, were used for each amendment treatment and the amendment control. In treatment columns amendment dosing was 500 mg/L C for carbon sources and 100 mg/L N for ammonium. Each of the amendment treatments reduced RDX inlet concentrations of 100 microg/L to less than 1 microg/L. The highest first-order RDX biodegradation rate ranged between 0.140 and 0.447 h(-1) for acetate amended columns as compared to 0.037 to 0.083 h(-1) in control columns (no amendment). The addition of soluble starch resulted in increased toxicity (based on Microtox analysis) that was partially removed by biological activity in the columns. Ethanol addition itself did not result in increased toxicity but biological activity in this system did induce Microtox toxicity. Acetate did not have any Microtox toxicity associated with it. The addition of ammonium as a nitrogen source did not significantly increase the removal rate of RDX. Based on these observations acetate was selected for the field demonstration.     

Load carriage for fun: a survey of New Zealand trampers, their activities and injuries

Much of the published research investigating the physiological, biomechanical and psychological impact of load carriage by backpack has studied young, fit males carrying loads for an hour or less. The resultant body of knowledge may not be appropriate to the increasing numbers of middle-aged and older men and women who are taking up or returning to tramping as a recreational activity. In this study, members of 11 tramping clubs throughout New Zealand were surveyed to discover their personal characteristics, characteristics of tramping trips undertaken and injuries sustained. Significant numbers of men and women over 30, 40 and 50 years of age and with generally sedentary lifestyles reported occasional tramping during which they carried backpacks weighing up to 29% of their body weight for more than five hours over 11–15 km/day. Injuries were reported by 74%, with sprains being the most common injury type and knees, ankles and feet the most frequent location of injury. These findings may have implications for route planning and the design of interventions to reduce injuries, health care, training, tracks, equipment and footwear, and demonstrate the need for further research to investigate the risks and requirements of recreational trampers.     

Mercury speciation and microbial transformations in mine wastes, stream sediments, and surface waters at the Almadén Mining District, Spain

Speciation of Hg and conversion to methyl-Hg were evaluated in mine wastes, sediments, and water collected from the Almadén District, Spain, the world's largest Hg producing region. Our data for methyl-Hg, a neurotoxin hazardous to humans, are the first reported for sediment and water from the Almadén area. Concentrations of Hg and methyl-Hg in mine waste, sediment, and water from Almadén are among the highestfound at Hg mines worldwide. Mine wastes from Almadén contain highly elevated Hg concentrations, ranging from 160 to 34,000 microg/g, and methyl-Hg varies from <0.20 to 3100 ng/g. Isotopic tracer methods indicate that mine wastes at one site (Almadenejos) exhibit unusually high rates of Hg-methylation, which correspond with mine wastes containing the highest methyl-Hg concentrations. Streamwater collected near the Almadén mine is also contaminated, containing Hg as high as 13,000 ng/L and methyl-Hg as high as 30 ng/L; corresponding stream sediments contain Hg concentrations as high as 2300 microg/g and methyl-Hg concentrations as high as 82 ng/g. Several streamwaters contain Hg concentrations in excess of the 1000 ng/L World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water standard. Methyl-Hg formation and degradation was rapid in mines wastes and stream sediments demonstrating the dynamic nature of Hg cycling. These data indicate substantial downstream transport of Hg from the Almadén mine and significant conversion to methyl-Hg in the surface environment.     

Experimental validation of a methanol crossover model in DMFC applications

A design of experiments (DOEs) coupled with a mathematical model was used to quantify the factors affecting methanol crossover in a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The design of experiments examined the effects of temperature, cathode stoichiometry, anode methanol flow rate, clamping force, anode catalyst loading, cathode catalyst loading (CCL), and membrane thickness as a function of current and it also considered the interaction between any two of these factors. The analysis showed that significant factors affecting methanol crossover were temperature, anode catalyst layer thickness, and methanol concentration. The analysis also showed how these variables influence the total methanol crossover in different ways due to the effects on diffusion of methanol through the membrane, electroosmotic drag, and reaction rate of methanol at the anode and cathode. For example, as expected analysis showed that diffusion was significantly affected by the anode and cathode interfacial concentration, by the thickness of the anode catalyst layer and membrane, and by the diffusion coefficient in the membrane. Less obvious was the decrease in methanol crossover at low cathode flow rates were due to the formation of a methanol film at the membrane/cathode catalyst layer interface. The relative proportions of diffusion and electroosmotic drag in the membrane changed significantly with the cell current of the cell.