Psychotherapists' assessments of their development at different career levels.

Experiences of current and career professional development were surveyed for 3,958 psychotherapists at all career stages in several western countries. Participants included psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health practitioners representing a broad range of theoretical orientations. The mean number of years in practice for the participants was 11.2, with a range of less than 1 to as many as 52. The Ss were aged 22–90 yrs. Measures of experienced development were consistent across professional and demographic categories. As expected, perceived therapeutic mastery increased with increasing years in practice, but currently experienced growth remained at a high and unexpectedly constant level across career cohorts, including the most senior practitioners. Overall findings suggest that therapists experience development simultaneously as a gradually increasing sense of professional expertise and as an ongoing sense of continual improvement, interpreted as essential to maintaining their motivation and morale. Contributions of these aspects of therapist development to process and outcome are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analysis of risk assessment and risk management processes in the derivation of maximum levels for environmental contaminants in food

Environmental contaminants originate from diverse sources and, owing to their ubiquitous presence in the environment, may appear in foods. Setting standards in food is increasingly important within the European Union and world-wide to protect consumers' health and to avoid trade barriers. This paper analyses how maximum levels for environmental contaminants in food were derived by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, by the European Union and by national authorities (USA, Germany). Both the risk assessment process (derivation of tolerable intake values and intake assessment by scientific bodies) and the risk management process (derivation of maximum levels by risk management bodies) are discussed. The various organizations show similar approaches and similar numerical values for maximum levels of the same contaminants in the same food items. In the area of decision-making for risk management, there was a noticeable lack of transparency in all the investigated systems. Recommendations are made for the development and harmonization of exposure assessment and communications between risk assessment and risk management processes, for improvements in documentation and for greater transparency within risk management decision-making processes.     

Bayesian rationality in evaluating multiple testimonies: Incorporating the role of coherence.

Routinely in day-to-day life, as well as in formal settings such as the courtroom, people must aggregate information they receive from different sources. One intuitively important but underresearched factor in this context is the degree to which the reports from different sources fit together, that is, their coherence. The authors examine a version of Bayes’ theorem that not only includes factors such as prior beliefs and witness reliability, as do other models of information aggregation, but also makes transparent the effect of the coherence of multiple testimonies on the believability of the information. The results suggest that participants are sensitive to all the normatively relevant factors when assessing the believability of a set of witness testimonies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aqueous chlorine dioxide treatment of horticultural produce: Effects on microbial safety and produce quality–A review

Microbial load on fresh fruit and vegetables causes decay and losses after harvest and may lead to foodborne illness in case of contamination with human pathogens on raw consumed produces. Washing with tap water only marginally reduces microorganisms attached to produce surfaces. Chlorine is widely used for decontamination on fresh horticultural produces. However, due to harmful by-products and the questionable efficacy it has become increasingly challenged. During the last 20 years, the interest to study ClO₂ treatments as an alternative sanitation agent for industrially prepared fresh produce has largely increased. For a wide range of commodities, the application of gaseous ClO₂ has meanwhile been investigated. In addition, since several years, the interest in aqueous ClO₂ treatments has further risen because of the better manageability in postharvest processing lines compared to gaseous application. This article critically evaluated the effects of postharvest application of aqueous ClO₂, either alone or in combination with other treatments, on microbial loads for various horticultural produces. In laboratory investigations, application of aqueous ClO₂ at concentrations between 3 and 100 ppm effectively reduced counts of natural or inoculated microorganisms (bacteria, yeasts, and mold) in the range of 1 and 5 log. However, various effects of ClO₂ treatments on produce quality have been described. These mainly comprise implication on sensory and visual attributes. In this context, there is increasing focus on the potential impacts of aqueous ClO₂ on relevant nutritional components of produces such as organic acids or phenolic substances.     

PCR assay for the detection of Campylobacter in marinated and non-marinated poultry products

During a period of 9 months, 194 marinated and non-marinated poultry products were collected from retail shops in a defined area in Western Finland and tested for Campylobacter spp. using a conventional enrichment culture and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method. For marinated poultry products, the study involved modification of a commercial DNA isolation method. Using either a conventional culture or PCR method, a total of 25 (12.9%) of all investigated samples were Campylobacter positive. In marinated poultry products, Campylobacter was detected at a prevalence of 21.1% and 9.5% in turkey and chicken products, respectively. In August, there was a peak with 28.9% positive Campylobacter samples. Campylobacter inoculation tests were carried out to test the detection limit of both methods. The PCR method used is faster than microbiological analyses. However, enrichment of the samples is necessary due to the low occurrence of Campylobacter spp. in retail Finnish poultry products.     

Lactobacillus sakei/curvatus is the prevailing lactic acid bacterium group in spoiled maatjes herring

A total of 164 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from spoiled maatjes herring stored in air and under modified atmosphere at 4 or 10 degrees C were characterised and identified using an rRNA gene restriction pattern (ribotype) database. The isolates were initially grouped according to their HindIII restriction endonuclease profiles and further identified to species level using numerical analysis. Lactobacillus sakei, Lactobacillus curvatus and strains of the L. curvatus spp./Lactobacillus fuchuensis group were the main species detected. Of all the isolates, six were identified as Lactococcus spp.     

Antireflection coating design for plastic optics

The coating of plastics for optical applications is intended to improve the mechanical durability of soft polymers and to serve an antireflection function. Usually a classic four-layer antireflection system is added on top of a single-layer hard coating. With needle optimization, an alternative coating design has been developed. The design is characterized by thin high-refractive-index layers that are almost evenly distributed over the whole stack. Plasma ion-assisted deposition was used to deposit coatings upon poly(methyl methacrylate), polycarbonate, and cyclo-olefin copolymer. Uniform antireflection and high scratch resistance have been achieved.