Field evidence of biodegradation of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in groundwater with incidental and active recycled water recharge

Biodegradation of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) has been found through laboratory incubation in unsaturated and saturated soil samples under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. However, direct field evidence of in situ biodegradation in groundwater is very limited. This research aimed to evaluate biodegradation of NDMA in a large-scale groundwater system receiving recycled water as incidental and active recharge. NDMA concentrations in 32 monitoring and production wells with different screen intervals were monitored over a period of seven years. Groundwater monitoring was used to characterize changes in the magnitude and extent of NDMA in groundwater in response to seasonal hydrogeologic conditions and, more importantly, to significant concentration variations in effluent from water reclamation plants (associated with treatment-process changes). Extensive monitoring of NDMA concentrations and flow rates at effluent discharge locations and surface-water stations was also conducted to reasonably estimate mass loading through unlined river reaches to underlying groundwater. Monitoring results indicate that significant biodegradation of NDMA occurred in groundwater, accounting for an estimated 90% mass reduction over the seven-year monitoring period. In addition, a discrete effluent-discharge and groundwater-extraction event was extensively monitored in a well-characterized, localized groundwater subsystem for 626 days. Analysis of the associated NDMA fate and transport in the subsystem indicated that an estimated 80% of the recharged mass was biodegraded. The observed field evidence of NDMA biodegradation is supported by groundwater transport modeling accounting for various dilution mechanisms and first-order decay for biodegradation, and by a previous laboratory study on soil samples collected from the study site [Bradley, P.M., Carr, S.A., Baird, R.B., Chapelle, F.H., 2005. Biodegradation of N-Nitrosodimethylamine in soil from a water reclamation facility. Bioremediat. J. 9 (2), 115-120.].     

Development of children's understanding of ambivalence and causal theories of emotions.

Investigated a 4-stage developmental sequence in children's understanding of ambivalence. At the highest level of this sequence, children understand that contradictory feelings can coexist at the same time toward the same target in terms of a framework in which it is recognized that the 2 feelings influence one another. 20 4–5 yr olds, 20 7–8 yr olds, and 20 10–11 yr olds were presented with 2 tape-recorded stories in which the protagonist could be construed as feeling happy and sad or anger and love. Raters scored the Ss' responses to a structured interview about the stories in terms of the proposed sequence. Separate parts of the protocols were assessed independently with respect to a proposed sequence in children's causal theories of emotions. According to this sequence, children's understanding of feelings develops from an externally based theory in which feelings are wedded to events to an internally based theory in which feelings largely depend on memories, thoughts, and attitudes. Results support both hypothesized developmental progressions and show significant relationships between the 2 domains of Ss' understanding of emotions. Findings suggest that internal states' mediation of emotional responses may be an important component in understanding ambivalence and that the motivation to integrate conflicting feelings may play a role in promoting the external to internal shift in children's causal theories of emotions. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The claiming effect: Why players are more generous in social dilemmas than in ultimatum games.

The term procedural frames is introduced and defined as different representations of structurally equivalent allocation processes. Study 1 compared 2 well-known games, sequential social dilemmas and ultimatum bargaining, that share the same structure: Player 1 creates an allocation of a resource and Player 2 decides whether to allow it or deny it. Study 1 found that Player 1 made more favorable allocations and Player 2 accepted more unfavorable allocations in a social dilemma frame than in an equivalent ultimatum bargaining frame. Study 2 revealed the critical determinant was whether Player 2 had to respond to an allocation by accepting or rejecting it (as in the ultimatum game) or by making a claim (as in the social dilemma). Two additional studies explored how these actions are perceived. The inconsistency of behavior across procedural frames raises methodological concerns but illuminates construal processes that guide allocation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability and validity of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in studies of autism.

Three studies were conducted with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) with autistic individuals. In Study 1, it was found that the traditional WCST is a highly reliable test for use with both autistic children and children with learning disabilities over time. In Study 2, the equivalence of the standard and computerized versions of the WCST was examined. Low-to-moderate alternate format reliability for both autistic and nonautistic samples was revealed. Study 3 dealt with group differences in performance as a function of WCST format. Although autistic children were significantly impaired relative to controls on the standard WCST, group differences on the computerized version of the test were attenuated. Autistic children tended to perform better on the computer than with the traditional format, suggesting that alternative forms of the test are not equivalent for this group. The potential contribution of social-motivational factors to this finding is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transverse depth-dependent changes in corneal collagen lamellar orientation and distribution

It is thought that corneal surface topography may be stabilized by the angular orientation of out-of plane lamellae that insert into the anterior limiting membrane. In this study, micro-focus X-ray scattering data were used to obtain quantitative information about lamellar inclination (with respect to the corneal surface) and the X-ray scatter intensity throughout the depth of the cornea from the centre to the temporal limbus. The average collagen inclination remained predominantly parallel to the tissue surface at all depths. However, in the central cornea, the spread of inclination angles was greatest in the anterior-most stroma (reflecting the increased lamellar interweaving in this region), and decreased with tissue depth; in the peripheral cornea inclination angles showed less variation throughout the tissue thickness. Inclination angles in the deeper stroma were generally higher in the peripheral cornea, suggesting the presence of more interweaving in the posterior stroma away from the central cornea. An increase in collagen X-ray scatter was identified in a region extending from the sclera anteriorly until about 2 mm from the corneal centre. This could arise from the presence of larger diameter fibrils, probably of scleral origin, which are known to exist in this region. Incorporation of this quantitative information into finite-element models will further improve the accuracy with which they can predict the biomechanical response of the cornea to pathology and refractive procedures.     

Introduction.

This article introduces this special issue of Health Psychology. Its purpose is to summarize recent findings on the influence of race on autonomic nervous system reactivity. Many but not all of the studies in this special issue were funded by a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute initiative. The studies reported herein, as well as those published recently in other journals (for a review, see Anderson 1989), represent perhaps the first generation of studies that have explored the reactivity model in Blacks. As such, they provide an empirical foundation on which future studies may build. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Environmental and genetic influences on prereading skills in Australia, Scandinavia, and the United States.

Individual differences in measures of prereading skills and in questionnaire measures of 4-5-year-old twins' print environments in Australia, Scandinavia, and the United States were explored with a behavioral-genetic design. Modest phenotypic correlations were found between environmental measures and the twins' print knowledge, general verbal ability, and phoneme awareness. Lower print knowledge in Scandinavian twins was related to country differences in preschool print environment. Latent-trait behavioral-genetic analyses indicated very strong shared-environment influences on individual differences in Print Knowledge. Genetic influence was also significant. Several other prereading skills varied in their environmental and genetic influence, including a significant contrast between Phonological Awareness and Print Knowledge. Rapid Naming also revealed very strong genetic influence, as did Verbal Memory. Stronger shared-environment influences were found for Vocabulary and Grammar/Morphology. Genetic and environmental correlations among latent traits for General Verbal Ability, Phonological Awareness, and Print Knowledge were high, but there were also significant independent genetic and environmental contributions to each skill. Practical implications include the need for substantial and sustained instructional support for children hampered by genetic constraints on early literacy development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using Theory to Inform Capacity‐Building: Bootstrapping Communities of Practice in Computer Science Education Research

In this paper, we describe our efforts in the deliberate creation of a community of practice of researchers in computer science education (CSEd). We understand community of practice in the sense in which Wenger describes it, whereby the community is characterized by mutual engagement in a joint enterprise that gives rise to a shared repertoire of knowledge, artefacts, and practices. We first identify CSEd as a research field in which no shared paradigm exists, and then we describe the Bootstrapping project, its metaphor, structure, rationale, and delivery, as designed to create a community of practice of CSEd researchers. Features of other projects are also outlined that have similar aims of capacity building in disciplinary‐specific pedagogic enquiry. A theoretically derived framework for evaluating the success of endeavours of this type is then presented, and we report the results from an empirical study. We conclude with four open questions for our project and others like it: Where is the locus of a community of practice? Who are the core members? Do capacity‐building models transfer to other disciplines? Can our theoretically motivated measures of success apply to other projects of the same nature?     

The choose-get-keep model of psychiatric rehabilitation: A synopsis of recent studies.

Objective: Comprehensive review of studies using the choose-get-keep (CGK) process model of psychiatric rehabilitation. Also, other studies are identified that have demonstrated methodologies useful in future research on the CGK model. Intervention Model: The CGK process is conceptualized as the phases through which people with psychiatric disabilities proceed as they engage in psychiatric rehabilitation. Conclusion: The CGK model is a potentially useful psychiatric rehabilitation intervention that can be implemented in a variety of service settings and that focuses on the activities of the practitioner and the service recipient. The CGK model warrants further empirical study to examine its effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)