Lead stabilizers and alternatives in wire & cable and geomembranes

Lead replacement heat stabilizers have made considerable inroads in areas where water resistance is not significant, primarily in wire jackets and insulations not for wet locations. In areas where short-term moisture resistance is required, such as with flexible cord insulation and electrical tapes, nonlead products are either in use or under development. In those areas where long-term water resistance is needed, as with geomembranes and many wire insulations, despite much experimentation, commercial products are not in use as yet in the United States. The factors involved are discussed.     

An application of artificial intelligence to the choreography of dance

This paper describes an experimental computer program that applies the techniques of artificial intelligence to the creation of dance. Specifically, a user expresses a set of dance rules (in a special English-like rule language) which describes some of the dynamic aspects of a dance. These rules are applied nondeterministically by a rule driver program. The rules themselves are similar to those that form the knowledge base of expert systems. The rule driver embodies a heuristic algorithm of the type found in many artificial intelligence programs.James H. Bradford is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Brock University. He is an active researcher in the area of Human/Computer Interaction with particular interests in the analysis of speech and the representation of dance.Paulette Côté-Laurence is an Associate Professor of Physical Education at Brock University. Her research interests are in the areas of motor control and the acquisition of dance skills, psychology of rhythm, and dance technology.     

Cognitive Trauma Therapy for Battered Women With PTSD (CTT-BW).

This article describes a second treatment-outcome study of cognitive trauma therapy for battered women with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; CTT-BW). CTT-BW includes trauma history exploration: PTSD education; stress management; exposure to abuse and abuser reminders; self-monitoring of negative self-talk; cognitive therapy for guilt; and modules on self-advocacy, assertiveness, and how to identify perpetrators. One hundred twenty-five ethnically diverse women were randomly assigned to immediate or delayed CTT-BW. PTSD remitted in 87% of women who completed CTT-BW, with large reductions in depression and guilt and substantial increases in self-esteem. White and ethnic minority women benefited equally from CTT-BW. Similar treatment outcomes were obtained by male and female therapists and by therapists with different levels of education and training. Gains were maintained at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of a robust, diimide-based, porous organic polymer (POP) as a high-capacity sorbent for representative chemical threats

A previously described porous organic polymer (NU-POP-1) was evaluated against four representative chemical threats: ammonia, cyanogen chloride, sulfur dioxide, and octane. Ammonia, cyanogen chloride, and sulfur dioxide are examples of toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) spanning the range from highly basic to strong-acid forming substances, while octane is used to assess physical adsorption capacity. Experiments were carried out using a microbreakthrough test apparatus, which measures the adsorption capacity at saturation and gives an indication of the strength of adsorption. The NU-POP-1 material exhibited substantial removal capabilities against the majority of the toxic chemicals, with capacities as high as or better than an activated, impregnated carbon. The ability to remove the highly volatile toxic chemicals ammonia and cyanogen chloride was intriguing, as these chemicals typically require reactive moieities for removal. The present work presents a benchmark for toxic chemical removal, and future work will focus on incorporating functional groups targeting the toxic chemicals of interest.     

Pain assessment and management in older adults: Conceptual issues and clinical challenges.

This article reviews clinical pain assessment and psychological pain management in older persons through the lens of a Communications Model of Pain (Craig, in press; Hadjistavropoulos & Craig, 2002; Hadjistavropoulos, Craig, & Fuchs-Lacelle, 2004; Prkachin & Craig, 1995). The Communications Model of Pain has the advantage of drawing attention to a variety of important factors that come into play when selecting assessment instruments and when making decisions concerning intervention. The authors examine a variety of assessment methodologies (including both self-report and observational approaches) that are suitable for older persons with and without dementia. The authors also review psychosocial pain management methods (e.g., cognitive behavior therapy and applications of behavioral approaches within long-term care facilities) that have potential applications with older persons. The role of psychological service providers is emphasized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of stress on mothers' memory of a natural disaster.

The effects of stress on mothers' recall for a major hurricane were studied. Stress was objectively defined as low, moderate, or high according to the severity of home damage. This study of 96 mothers was conducted concurrently with L. E. Bahrick, J. F. Parker, R. Fivush, and M. Levitt (1998), allowing the authors to compare child and adult recall as a function of the same stressor. There was a quadratic relationship between storm severity and total recall for adults, similar to their children. Mothers' recall increased from low to moderate severity, but recall at moderate severity did not differ from high severity. These findings help clarify the effects of stress on the amount and type of information adults recall in retrospective accounts of naturalistic, temporally extended events. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acquisition of word-processing skills by younger, middle-age, and older adults.

A total of 45 subjects in three age groups (younger, middle-age, older) were trained to word process on microcomputers using a commercial training program and an experimenter-designed test and evaluation protocol. Although all of the subjects mastered the essentials of word processing, the older group took significantly longer to complete the training and evaluation procedures and performed more poorly on a review examination that tested their knowledge of the word-processing commands and techniques. The results are discussed in relation to requirements for trainer assistance, motivational factors, and the need to design training protocols that meet the needs of older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The structure of client language and drinking outcomes in project match.

Client language during Motivational Interviewing interventions is an important predictor of drinking outcomes, but there are inconsistencies in the literature regarding what aspects of client language are most predictive. We characterized the structure of client language by factor analyzing frequency counts of several categories of client speech. The results provide limited support for a model proposed by Miller et al. (2006) and Amrhein et al. (2003) but with some important differences. While Amrhein et al. (2003) found that only increasing strength in client commitment language predicted behavior change, the current study revealed that client language preparatory to commitment predicted drinking outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reduction electrochimique de composes organiques en presence de tensio-actifs—IV. Etudes polarographique et spectroscopique des nitroanilines

In order to elucidate the location of substrates in micelles we studied the polarographic and spectroscopic (ESR) behaviour of nitroanilines isomers as a function of pH in the presence of a neutral surfactant (BRIJ 35). In basic or neutral media, two polarogaphic waves are observed and the spectra of anion radicals can be recorded during “in situ” electrochemical reductions. In acidic aqueous solutions and without surfactant, o and p-nitroanilines give a six-electron wave whereas a four-electron wave is observed for m-nitroaniline. If BRIJ is added, the three isomers lead to four electron processes. Presence of surfactant causes a decreasing of the rate of the intermediate chemical step for the ECE mechanism. When the surfactant concentration reaches 0.1 M, electrolysis “in situ” (pH = 3.5) gives no ESR signal for o- and m-nitroaniline. Under the same conditions, the p-nitroaniline solution exhibits a well resolved spectrum of p-phenyl-enediamine cation radical. Formation of such a cationic intermediate during the reduction process is discussed and its stabilization is conceivable by means of a solvent “cage effect”.