Community services for rape survivors: Enhancing psychological well-being or increasing trauma?

This research examined how contact with the legal, medical, and mental health systems affects rape survivors' psychological well-being. Although community services may be beneficial for some victims, there is increasing evidence that they can add trauma, rather than alleviate distress (termed secondary victimization). This study examined how secondary victimization affects rape survivors' posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms. Adaptive and snowball sampling were used to recruit a sample of 102 rape survivors. Victims of nonstranger rape who received minimal assistance from either the legal or medical system, and encountered victim-blaming behaviors from system personnel, had significantly elevated levels of PTS. This high-risk group of rape survivors had PTS levels significantly higher than all other victims in this study, including those who did not seek community assistance postrape. However, for these high-risk rape survivors, receiving sustained mental health services after these negative experiences was associated with a significant decrease in PTS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theory and research on small groups.

Review of book: R. Scott Tindale et. al (Eds.) Theory and Research on Small Groups. New York: Plenum Press. 1998, 277 pp. Reviewed by Mark F. Stasson, Michael J. Markus, and Jason W. Hart. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aflatoxin production in three selected samples of triticale,wheat and rye grown in Argentina

Little is known about mycotoxin contamination of triticale, a hybrid resulting from crossing wheat and rye. The purpose of the present work was to evaluate triticale as a substrate for aflatoxin accumulation in comparison with its parents. Aflatoxin (B₁, B₂, G₁ and G₂) accumulation curves were obtained for the three substrates inoculated with Aspergillus parasiticus NRRL 2999 and incubated at 25 °C and water activity 0.925 for 10 weeks. Wheat and triticale were poor substrates for aflatoxin production. Rye was more prone than the other substrates to fast colonisation by A parasiticus and accumulated larger aflatoxin quantities over the whole incubation period. The maximum aflatoxin concentration in rye (11 840 µg kg⁻¹) was significantly larger (p < 0.05) than those obtained in wheat (2150 µg kg⁻¹) and triticale (2850 µg kg⁻¹). © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Extent of cleaning achievable by bioremediation of soil contaminated with petrochemical sludges

Bioremediation is capable of reducing the hydrocarbon concentration of contaminated soil by 75–95% depending on the soil type, the kind of hydrocarbons and the history of the contamination. The impact of different number of petrochemical sludge applications to soil on the degree of PAH elimination was assessed. A simple and reliable extraction and gas chromatographic method was used to facilitate more rapid determination of hydrocarbon contamination in soils and sludge wastes. Its application in a model laboratory bioremediation experiment and a pilot field study were used to illustrate its practical benefits. Post-remediation persistence of sludge constituents was evaluated after a single dose sludge application in the laboratory and after seven sludge applications in the field. A relative increase in the concentration of some PAHs was detected at the end of the experiments, but their individual concentrations were reduced to suggested values for industrial soils. The remaining concentration of total hydrocarbons in soil was found to be similar in both experiments, pointing to soil organic matter adsorption capacity as the factor determining hydrocarbon elimination limits in soil bioremediation. ©1997 SCI     

A note on global convergence of adaptive control in a discrete‐time non‐linear case

Adaptive control is applied to a particular class of SISO discrete‐time non‐linear systems. Global boundedness and convergence are obtained by introducing a modification to a classical adaptive scheme. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Particulate Matter (PM10) Promotes Cell Invasion through Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) by TGF-β Activation in A549 Lung Cells

Air pollution presents a major environmental problem, inducing harmful effects on human health. Particulate matter of 10 μm or less in diameter (PM₁₀) is considered an important risk factor in lung carcinogenesis. Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a regulatory program capable of inducing invasion and metastasis in cancer. In this study, we demonstrated that PM₁₀ treatment induced phosphorylation of SMAD2/3 and upregulation of SMAD4. We also reported that PM₁₀ increased the expression and protein levels of TGFB1 (TGF-β), as well as EMT markers SNAI1 (Snail), SNAI2 (Slug), ZEB1 (ZEB1), CDH2 (N-cadherin), ACTA2 (α-SMA), and VIM (vimentin) in the lung A549 cell line. Cell exposed to PM₁₀ also showed a decrease in the expression of CDH1 (E-cadherin). We also demonstrated that expression levels of these EMT markers were reduced when cells are transfected with small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) against TGFB1. Interestingly, phosphorylation of SMAD2/3 and upregulation of SMAD induced by PM₁₀ were not affected by transfection of TGFB1 siRNAs. Finally, cells treated with PM₁₀ exhibited an increase in the capacity of invasiveness because of EMT induction. Our results provide new evidence regarding the effect of PM₁₀ in EMT and the acquisition of an invasive phenotype, a hallmark necessary for lung cancer progression.     

The implementation of the EU renewable directive in Spain. Strategies and challenges

Based on the European project RES2020, the analysis evaluates the energy strategies to be implemented in Spain in order to satisfy the EU Renewable Directive. The modelling framework relies on the technico-economic model TIMES-Spain, part of the Pan-European TIMES model used in the project. TIMES is a bottom-up technology rich optimisation model representing the whole energy systems of the countries. Among the results, it appears that the gap regarding the renewable deployment in Spain between the Business-as-Usual case (including the existing policies) and the EU Directive should be compensated mainly by the penetration of bioenergy in transport and industry, and by the implementation of conservation measures, which contribute to reduce the total energy demand and thus makes useless additional investments in renewable power plants compared to the Business-as-Usual case. Only higher climate mitigation ambitions result in an absolute increase in the renewable-based electricity generation compared to the Business-as-Usual case. Moreover, when allowed, Spain is offering renewable energy credits under the statistical transfer mechanism to other European countries. The cost increase of the modelled renewable and climate policies compared to the Business-as-Usual remains relatively minor.     

Nanoclay migration from food packaging materials

A recent trend is to use nanocomposites materials for food-packaging applications. Different kinds of nanoparticles are incorporated into the polymers to improve their characteristics, and, among them, nanoclay is used to improve their barrier properties to gases. In this work, the results of migration studies with different food simulants (ethanol 10% and acetic acid 3%), temperatures and times (40ºC for 10 days and 70ºC for 2 h) from two commercialised LDPE nanocomposite bags are presented. The migration solutions thus obtained were analysed by ICP-MS to evaluate the amount of aluminium which migrated into the solutions both in dissolved form and as a part of nanoparticles. Aluminium migration was observed for both samples with a maximum migration value of 51.65 ng cm^–2 for the Aisaika bags and 24.14 ng cm^–2 for the Debbie Meyer bags. The presence of spikes working in single-particle mode using ICP-MS indicated that part of this aluminium was present as nanoparticles. The size and morphology of the nanoclay, in both the original material and the migration solutions, was studied by scanning electron microscopy coupled to energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction (SEM-EDX). In this manner, nanoparticles of different morphologies and sizes were found to migrate into the food simulants.     

In-situ measurement of ethanol tolerance in an operating fuel cell

Ethanol is seen as an attractive option as a fuel for direct ethanol fuel cells and as a source for on-demand production of hydrogen in portable applications. While the effect of ethanol on in-situ electrode behavior has been studied previously, these efforts have mostly been limited to qualitative analysis. In alkaline fuel cells, several cathode catalysts, including Pt, Cu triazole, and Ag can be used. Here, we apply a methodology using a microfluidic fuel cell to analyze in-situ the performance of these cathodes as well as Pt anodes in the presence of ethanol and acetic acid, a common side product from ethanol oxidation. For a given concentration of ethanol (or acetic acid), the best cathode catalyst can be determined and the kinetic losses due to the presence of ethanol (or acetic acid) can be quantified. These experiments also yield information about power density losses from the presence of contaminants such as ethanol or acetic acid in an alkaline fuel cell. The methodology demonstrated in these experiments will enable in-situ screening of new cathodes with respect to contaminant tolerance and determining optimal operational conditions for alkaline ethanol fuel cells.     

Influence of the co-firing on the leaching of trace pollutants from coal fly ash

The (co)-firing of low-cost alternative fuels is expected to increase in the forthcoming years in the EU because of the economic and environmental benefits provided by this technology. This study deals with the impact of the different coal/waste fuel ratio of the feed blend on the mineralogy, the chemical composition and especially on the leaching properties of fly ash. Different blends of coal, petroleum coke, sewage sludge, wood pellets, coal tailings and other minor biomass fuels were tested in PCC (pulverised coal combustion) and FBC (fluidized bed combustion) power plants. The co-firing of the studied blends did not drastically modify the mineralogy, bulk composition or the overall leaching of the fly ash obtained. This suggests that the co-firing process using the alternative fuels studied does not entail significant limitations in the re-use or management strategies of fly ash.