The composition and microbial quality of pre-packed dates purchased in Greater Glasgow

Composition and microbiological contamination was measured in samples of pre-packed dates purchased from a number of stores and retail outlets in Greater Glasgow. The sugar content of dried pitted dates was c . 74%, about 10% more than reported on those packs where nutritional information was given. Potentially pathogenic bacteria like Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus were identified in some of the samples together with lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and moulds, Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus . Fresh dates were the most heavily contaminated of all samples, probably owing to the high moisture content.     

Soliton-like waves in a low temperature nonlinear thermoelastic solid

An analysis of soliton-like waves propagating in a low-temperature nonlinear thermoelastic solid given in J. Ignaczak, J. Thermal Stresses 13, 73–98 (1990) is extended by introducing a low-temperature parameter ω ? (0, 1 ] into the basic equations. The two ω-parametrized one-dimensional soliton-like thermoelastic waves that propagate with finite speeds in a given direction are obtained in an implicit form for a large range of other parameters involved, by using the method similar to that employed by Ignaczak. If ω = 1 the thermoelastic soliton-like waves from Ignaczak's article are recovered. In addition, on the basis of an approximate system of nonlinear governing equations valid for a small ω, two fast-moving soliton-like thermoelastic waves are examined in detail. Each of these two waves reveals a fountain effect in a neighborhood of a moving front, and is close to a thermodynamical equilibrium far from the front. Schematic graphs illustrate both the exact and the approximate soliton-like waves.     

Substrate specificity of the Escherichia coli RuvC protein. Resolution of three- and four-stranded recombination intermediates

The specificity of the Escherichia coli RuvC Holliday junction resolvase has been investigated in vitro. RuvC protein cleaves synthetic DNA substrates that model three- or four-stranded recombination intermediates but fails to act upon Y junctions, G/A mismatches, heterologous loop structures, or two-stranded branched junctions. RuvC therefore differs from endonuclease VII of bacteriophage T4 which exhibits broad range specificity. Using related three- and four-stranded synthetic DNA junctions, we show that RuvC cleaves both junctions at the same DNA sequence and requires a region of homology at the junction point. The action of RuvC on three- and four-stranded recombination intermediates made by RecA was also investigated. We found that RuvC fails to resolve three-stranded intermediates in the presence of RecA, although four-stranded intermediates are resolved under the same conditions. However, both three- and four-stranded intermediates are substrates for the nuclease after removal of RecA. We interpret these differences in terms of the contiguity of the RecA nucleoprotein filament which may, under certain conditions, limit access to the Holliday junction resolvase.     

A comparison of the dissolution of model compounds and the kerogen of Green River oil shale by oxidation with perchloric acid — A model for the kerogen of Green River oil shale

A stepwise degradation of a kerogen concentrate of Green River oil shale was effected by oxidation with perchloric acid of varying boiling point and concentration. Dissolution of the kerogen concentrate occurred between 160 and 170°C. Several model compounds were also oxidized with perchloric acid. The model compounds were polyethylene, graphite, nylon, and polyethylene oxide. The results indicated that the kerogen was similar to polyethylene oxide. The results of this study and previous work were used to present a model for the structure of the kerogen of Green River oil shale.     

Predicting postdischarge opiate abstinence from admission measures of motivation and confidence.

Admission scores from a model comprising 3 motivation factors concerning the cessation of heroin use and a confidence scale concerning postdischarge abstinence were tested for their ability to predict postdischarge outcomes in patients beginning inpatient opiate detoxification. Statistically significant prediction of abstinence from heroin 30 days after discharge and the number of heroin-free days in the 3 months following admission was based on the confidence scale and a factor concerned with externally imposed constraints on continued heroin use. The single-scale confidence measure made the largest contribution to each prediction, indicating that such scales may be potentially useful outcome predictors for postdischarge abstinence. External constraints on heroin use may not provide a basis for success in this treatment modality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Matching treatment focus to patient social investment and support: 18-month follow-up results.

Patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatments: brief broad-spectrum (BBS), extended relationship enhancement (ERE), or extended cognitive–behavioral (ECB). A hierarchical latent growth model was used to analyze the data of 188 patients (82%) followed for 18 months. ERE treatment was significantly more effective in increasing abstinence of patients entering treatment with a network unsupportive of abstinence or with a low level of investment in their network, whereas BBS treatment was more effective for patients with either (a) both a social network unsupportive of abstinence and a low level of network investment or (b) high investment in a network supportive of abstinence. ECB outcomes were neither as good as those matched nor as bad as those mismatched to the different exposures of relationship enhancement. This suggests that dose of relationship enhancement should be determined after assessing patient relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rehabilitation planned in accordance with the Luria neuropsychological investigation: A case history of a patient with left sided aneurysm.

After suffering a rupture of a left-sided aneurysm on the middle cerebral artery with prolonged arterial spasms, the prognosis for recovery of speech and motor functions of a 27-yr-old male patient was considered to be poor. Based on a Luria neuropsychological investigation that revealed many areas of preserved brain functions, rehabilitation efforts were directed toward training of specific abilities as well as compensatory skills using intact functions. This case demonstrates the interaction between the training program and the levels of motivation and persistence of the S and his family necessary to produce optimal rehabilitation outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testing for the equivalence of factor covariance and mean structures: The issue of partial measurement invariance.

Addresses issues related to partial measurement invariance using a tutorial approach based on the {lisrel} confirmatory factor analytic model. Specifically, we demonstrate procedures for (a) using "sensitivity analyses" to establish stable and substantively well-fitting baseline models, (b) determining partially invariant measurement parameters, and (c) testing for the invariance of factor covariance and mean structures, given partial measurement invariance. We also show, explicitly, the transformation of parameters from an all-X to an all-Y model specification, for purposes of testing mean structures. These procedures are illustrated with multidimensional self-concept data from low (n?=?248) and high (n?=?582) academically tracked high school adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential diagnosis of attention deficit and conduct disorders using conditional probabilities.

Attention deficit and conduct disorders require an important yet often difficult differential diagnosis. Prior efforts to determine which symptoms are optimal for making this differential diagnosis have been limited by a reliance on statistics that do not supply the probability of the disorders given a symptom's presence (positive predictive power) or the probability that the disorder is not present given the absence of the symptom (negative predictive power). This investigation examined the utility of these latter statistics in the differential diagnosis of childhood attention deficit and conduct disorders. The data consisted of symptoms from a standardized maternal psychiatric interview collected for a sample of 76 clinic-referred boys. Results indicated that some symptoms are optimal as inclusion criteria, some as exclusion criteria, some as neither, and some as both. Furthermore, some symptoms that have been traditionally associated with the diagnosis of one disorder were actually found to be more useful in the diagnosis of the other disorder. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The dismantling of our health system: Strategies for the survival of psychological practice": A reply to Cummings.

Comments on the original article, The dismantling of our health system: Strategies for the survival of psychological practice by Nicholas A. Cummings (see record 1986-22651-001). In response to this article, the current author says "no, no, no!" He believes that "survival with this degree of compromise amounts to doing anything for a buck." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)